
w 





"Uo* 







■■-.. 




-of 








l ^or 




r oV 








■ «v^ \W3&: ***** 

G* *o *£*> <V 



<\ 













.f v 



«£ ^ 







VI 





** % 







< o 











'of 



^ A <t> ' ° » ° " \* 







k C^ .\filfef. «c A * ^ 













THE 



CHURCH'S MISSION 



TO THE 



ONEIDAS 



ONEIDA INDIAN RESERVATION 

WISCONSIN 

1902 



SECOND EDITION 



P. B. HABER PRINTING CO., 
FOND DU LAC, WIS. 



£"?? 






• : C" • 



;!' 



* Li 




!• 



k 




HOBART CHURCH 
(Church of the Holy Apostles.) 



The Indians of the Oneida Nation 



Popular Misconceptions of the Indians 



"TjREJUDICE has ever, until the present time, held before the public 
.A. eye and mind a shabby and useless specimen of humanity in the 

Indian: and the quotation "Better keep some of them wild, Bishop, if 
you would keep the Church interested," shows one of the most evident 
misconceptions of the cynical mind. To make the Indian attractive to 
ihe majority of persons you must picture him in the gay paint and 
feathers of the wild, untutored savage, It is hard to arouse the inter- 
est even of Christian people in the Christianized and civilized Indians, 
.and most persons seem incredulous and almost disappointed when you 
tell them that at the present time within the United States the real sav- 
age is hard to find; that all the Indians of whatsoever grade have learned 
something of Christianity: that all have abandoned in some degree 
their ancient superstitions. Indeed it is rather surprising to find how 
little is known of the number and condition of the North American In- 
dians. It is a popular fancy that there are comparatively few Indians. 
That they are rapidly disappearing, and that in the ordinary course of 
nature they all will soon have passed to the "Happy Hunting Fields" 
of their forefathers. The facts are, there are nearly 250,000 of them 
exclusive of the Alaskans, they are not rapidly decreasing, and, with 
their improved surroundings, the absence of destructive wars, the grad- 
ual improvement of sanitary conditions, and the spread of Christianity 
and of education, the North American Indian will long survive among 
us as a distinct type. Another fact to be remembered is that the In- 
dian nature is simply human nature bound in red and the Indian has 
the same affections, passions, desires and capacities as other people. 
A careful study of the Red men aided by contact with them on the Res- 
ervation, in their homes, and in the government schools, leads one to 
the firm conviction that, as a class, under favorable conditions, they are 
self-respecting, noble-minded, and responsive to all rightful appeals to 
their better nature. There are now more than 20,000 Indian youths 
enrolled in schools, and they show the same aptitude as white children 
under similar circumstances. It is said by the United States Commis- 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 





LOG HOUSE 



sioner of Indian affairs that they excel in penmanship and drawing, are 
not defective in musical talent, can be trained to habits of industry and 
study, take readily to the ruder mechanical arts, and many of them 

have acquired very- 
respectable scholar- 
ship, general and pro- 
fessional. 

Give to all the In- 
dian children a good, 
common, American 
gggjj— industrial education, 
send to every tribe 
the Christian Mis- 
Hj sionary, with the 
Church's influence, 
SSsSM and time will do the 
rest. When the In- 
dian has the full 
rights of American citizenship, with Christian influence to mould and 
protect him, he will soon achieve for himself a respected place among 
his fellow-men. It is another popular fancy that the Indians are all 
alike, and that whatever is true about the Sioux of the Dakotas is equally 
applicable to 
the Apaches of 
Arizona or the 
Pueblos of New 
Mexico. The 
truth is, they 
differ among 
themselves in 
every respect ; 
in language, 
dress, mode of 
living, manners 
and occupa- 
tion. The In- 
dians of the Oneida Reservation have long ago abandoned the blanket 
and feathers. The rudely constructed tepee is unknown. They live in 
houses, and although the majority are still log cabins, they are substan- 
tial and neat. Among the younger generation, and the more prosper - 




MODERN HOME 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 5 

ous, good frame buildings are now being erected, and these with ver- 
andahs, large windows, and cellars, are rapidly taking the place of the 
little log dwellings, the great cracks of which were filled with hard sun- 
baked clay, and where in cramped quarters the Indian family with dif- 
ficulty made its home. Our illustrations of the exterior and interior of 
some of the modern houses will show that an elevating love of home 
adornment is growing, that pictures and books are to be found in the 
"best room," while lawns and gardens and shade trees are to be seen 
about their homes. 

Nowhere will you find the, blanket as the chief and only wearing ap- 




MODERN HOME 



parel, for the Oneidas dress in white man's clothing, and although the 
older women prefer the more quiet dress and the becoming shawl or 
kerchief in place of some guady millinery, yet even here fashion has its 
followers among the younger generation, and on Sundays, you would 
find our congregation wearing as fine clothes as the average white 
farmer. 

One more popular fancy that needs refuting is that all these 250,000 
Indians are paupers, lazy vagabonds, fattening at the public crib. As 
a matter of fact probably less than one-fourth of them receive anything 
from the Government, while the great mass are self-supporting. They 
subsist, either by the labor of their own hands, or upon that which they 
receive from the Government in payment for their lands. The last cen- 
sus of the Oneida Indians compared with those taken in the past shows 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 




INTERIOR OF MODERN HOME 



that at least among their tribe, the story that the Indian race is dying 
out, has become as untrue as it is time-worn. The Oneida Reservation 
-is, however, one of the few in which a complete census can be taken, 

and it shows the In- 
dians to be more civ- 
ilized than those up- 
on any other Reser- 
vation in the coun- 
try. 

The Oneidas 
have a 1 w ays been 
close friends with the 
•American or English 
speaking people. 
Their early home was 
in the beautiful val- 
ley of the Mohawk 
River, not far from 
where the city of Utica now stands. During the early settlement of the 
Dutch in New York State, and later, at the time of the French and Indian 
war, the Oneidas were found faithful to their white neighbors, taking up 
arms in their defence against other tribes of their own race. The tribe 
has also been noted for its loyalty, and by none is the flag more honored. 
During the civil 
war this tribe fur- 
nished 135 volunteers 
to the Union Army. 
Death has thinned 
their ranks, but of 
this number about 
thirty are still living 
and they are among 
the leading men of 
the community. The 
Oneidas have always 
been known also as a 
self-respecting, self- 
supporting people. 
They have never been 
the recipients of Gov- OLD ONEIDA WOMEN 







THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 7 

ernment rations, clothing, horses, or other bounties, nor have they held 
the strings of any of Uncle Sam's money bags. The only cash payment 
made to our people is the munificent sum of fifty cents per capita which 
they receive annually for services rendered to the Government during 
the Revolutionary War. Loyal to their country in all its struggles, 
making steady progress, in all that belongs to civilized life, a living wit- 
ness to the Church's power in the development of character, if the 
Indian in his natural state was ever an object of interest, he is now one, 
whose farther development in Christianity and civilization every Amer- 
ican and Churchman should be ready to aid. 

The Origin of " The People of the Stone" 

For the legend of "The Oneida Stone " we are indebted to Dr. M. 
M. Bagg of the Oneida Historical Society, Utica, N. Y. At a promi- 
nent position near the entrance of the Forrest Hill Cemetery, Utica, stands 
the Palladium of the Oneidas, the sacred stone which gave them their 
national name, and which is said to have followed them in all of their 
wanderings. The legend is that the Oneidas, whose territory extended 
from the country of the Onondagas to that of the Mohawks, occupying 
all of Central New York, were descended from two Onondaga Indians, 
who were brothers. At a very remote period they left their native home 
and built wigwams on the Oneida River, at the outlet of Oneida Lake, 
where, like the antediluvians, they " builded a city " and " Begat sons 
and daughters." At their resting place there appeared an oblong round- 
ish stone, unlike any of the rocks in the vicinity, which came to be their 
sacrificial altar, and gave a name to their children. " Onia," in their 
native tongue, is the word for a stone. As their descendants increased 
in number and became a community, they were called after this stone 
" Onionta-aug," "the people of the stone," or " who springs from the 
Stone." A mispronunciation has given us the word Oneida. The stone 
was the altar upon which all their sacrifices were made, and around 
which their councils and festive and religious gatherings took place. 
After the lapse of several generations, the Onionta-aug, now become 
numerous, removed from the Oneida River to the place where the creek, 
which now bears their name, is discharged into the Oneida Lake, and 
the sacred stone, unassisted by human hands, so the legend runs, fol- 
lowed them and located itself again in their midst. Here they flourished 
until the confederation of the Five Nations was formed, and the children 
of the stone became second in the order of precedence in the great con- 



8 THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 

federacy. At length it was determined by the old men and warriors of 
the nation to remove their council fire to the summit of one of the chain 
of hills skirting the valley of the Oneida Creek on the east. When the 
council of the nation had selected this new home for its people, the stone, 
true to its mission, a second time followed in the train of its children, 
and seeking one of the most commanding and beautiful points upon the 
hill, deposited itself in a beautiful butternut grove, from which the eye 
could look out upon the wide landscape, the most lovely portion of the 
national domain. Here it remained to witness the subsequent history 
of its people. It saw the Five Nations increase in power and importance 
until their name struck terror from the St. Lawrence to the Gulf of 
Mexico, and from the Hudson to the Father of Waters. Around this 
unhewn altar, within its leafy temple, was gathered all the wisdom of the 
nation, when measures affecting its welfare were to be considered. 
Here, eloquence as effective and beautiful as ever fell from classic lips 
was poured forth in the ears of its sons and daughters. Here, Scon- 
ondoa, the last orator of his race — the warrior chief, the lowly Christian 
Convert — with matchless power swayed the hearts of his countrymen. 
Here the sacred rites were celebrated at the return of each harvest moon 
and each new year, when every son and daughter of the Stone came up 
like the Jewish tribes of old, to join in the national festivities. Here 
to-day lies the Stone, perhaps to take another journey to rest among its 
own people. Who knows ?* 

Early History of the Oneidas 

Let us relate some reminiscences of the early history of the Onei- 
das, a tribe of the once powerful Six Nations. The tribe can boast of 
being the oldest of our Church's Indian Missions, dating from the year 
1702 and starting under the direction of the Society for the Propagation 
of the Gospel. A mission to them was one of the earliest enterprises 
of that noble society. Mr. Robert Livingston, Secretary for Indian 
Affairs in New York, had interviewed the Society on the subject. The 
Rev. J. Talbot had reported to the home authorities in Nov. 1702, that 

*Upon investigation, it has been found that the Oneida Stone, in 1 850, was bought with the 
Cemetery, from Madison County, with the approval of the resident Oneidas, as well as by con- 
sent of the owner of the farm where it rested. The Cemetery was opened, and 200 Oneidas and 
Onondagas came, and after the ceremonies many of them stooped to kiss the stone, and ad- 
dresses were made by chiefs of both tribes and interpreted by the Interpreter of the Oneidas de- 
claring that the tribes gave their sanction to this final disposal of the altar of their fathers. It is 
stated also that, the large space around the stone was left for the interment of any Oneidas who 
might wish to be buried there. May this legend of the Stone now resting under the trees by their 
graves, be to these red men an abiding prophecy or type of that Saving Spiritual Rock which of 
old followed Israel's children in their journey to the Promised Land. The last of the Oneida 
Chiefs, our present interpreter, hearing the proposal to move the great Stone from Utica to 
Oneida, shook his head in disapproval and said, "We have the True Stone here," pointing 
to the great stone Church. 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 9 

"The Indians have promised obedience to the faith." Five of the 
Sachems or kings told Lord Conbury at Albany, that " They were glad 
to hear that the Sun shined in England again since King William's 
death." "They admired that we should have a 'Squaw Sachem, or 
woman king,' but hoped she would be a good mother and send them 
some to teach them religion." In 1709 we find four of the Iroquois 
Sachems crossing the great seas and presenting an address to Queen 
Anne, with " Belts of Waupum " as sure tokens of the sincerity of the 
Six Nations. They touchingly said " Since we were in covenant with 
our great Queen's children, we have had some knowledge of the 
Saviour of the world. If our great Queen would send some to instruct 
us they would find a most hearty welcome." The address being re- 
ferred to the then young society it was resolved to send Missionaries, to 
provide translations of the Bible and Prayer Book in Mohawk, and to 
stop the sale of intoxicating liquors to the Indians, "this being the 
earnest request of the Sachems themselves." Along with the other 
tribes the Oneidas shared in the ministrations of the society's first Mis- 
sionaries. These servants of Christ carried on the work with varying 
success. At one time we read of a " regular sober congregation among 
the Mohawks of 500 Christian Indians, of whom fifty are very serious 
communicants." Then again, we read of some oppositions and of some 
falling away. As now, so then, light and shadow followed each other 
even in the ever brightening day. The work of civilizing and Chris- 
tianizing the natives suffered through the wars between the French and 
English, but most of all by the bad behavior of the white men, who 
cheated the Indians in trade and ruined them by drink. The Mission- 
ary reported to the Society, "It is from the bad behavior of the Chris- 
tians here, that the Indians have had and still have their notions of 
Christianity, which God knows, hath been generally such that it hath 
made the Indians to hate our religion." He added, " The Christians 
selling the Indians so much rum is a sufficient bar, if there were no 
other, against their embracing Christianity." The evil came along with 
the good. The effect of the fire water on these red men is to madden 
and brutalize them more readily than it does the whites. The toma- 
hawk and scalping knife are slow in their murderous work compared 
with the destroying effects of intoxicating drink upon the aborig- 
ines. Yet they are not incapable of reformation, and sometimes God 
in his mercy leads them to it through their very falls. He makes as He 
often does with all of us, the stones over which His children have 
stumbled, stepping stones to heaven. 



THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



The work of God's planting never perishes. In spite of many obsta- 
cles and set-backs the Christianizing of the Red men went on, though 
the Missionaries had to toil and surfer and lay down their lives. We 
read of one Andrews, a Missionary to the Mohawks, walking through the 
forests to visit the Oneidas a hundred miles away, and " lying several 
nights in the woods on a bear skin." This was a common enough occur- 
rence. Sometimes the Indians it is said stirred up by some emissary 
from the French, or unfriendly Tuscaroras from North Carolina, would 
turn against their leaders and desert and mock them. A Missionary 
had not only to bear the pinch of poverty and all the exposure of a life 
in the wilderness, but also the savage attacks made sometimes upon 
home and Church. The tomahawk and flambeau were not pleasant 
neighbors. Nor was the opposition confined to the Indians alone, Lord 
Conbury the royal Governor at New York, whom Col. Morris character- 
izes as a " man certainly the reverse of all that is good," summoned Mr. 
Moor, one of the Mis- 
sionaries, before him. 
Mr. Moor had rebuked 
him for s o m e of his 
openly scandalous con- 
duct. The Governor 
had Moor arrested and 
imprisoned in Fort 
Anne. What do you 
think was this good 
man's great offence ? 
The alleged irregular- 
ity was " The celebrat- 
ing the Blessed Sacra- 
ment as often as once a 
fortnight," which fre- 
quency, he the Gover- 
nor, was pleased to for- 
bid. In the middle of 
that century we find the 
Indians ministered toby 
one Rev. J. Ogilvie, who 
attended the troops in 
the expedition to Niag- 
ara. Almost all the Six RT . REV . BISH op HOBART 




THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS II 

Nations co-operated. The Indian fighting men numbered nine hundred 
and forty. He records that he " officiated constantly to the Mohawks 
and Oneidas who regularly attended Divine Service." Twelve of the 
Mohawk leaders fell in the battle at Lake George, six of them regular 
communicants. When at home writes another Missionary, the Rev. J. 
Stuart, "The Indians regularly attend service daily, and when out 
hunting some would come (of course on foot) sixty miles to communi- 
cate on Christmas day." The Revolution brought its embarrassments 
and its trials and hinderances to the Church's progress. The Mohawks 
and others abandoned their property, and their dwellings, under a sense 
of loyalty to the crown, and eventually took shelter in Canada. Those 
who remained were left without regular ministrations for some years. 
Finally they came under the protecting care of Bishop Hobart who was 
consecrated in May 1811. The mission had indeed dwindled but this 
godly servant of God immediately revived it. Consecrated in May 181 1, 
we find him at once visiting the Indian members of his flock. At that 
lime there were left several baptized persons and one communicant. The 
work grew rapidly. In Bishop Hobart's address to his Diocesan Con- 
vention in the year 1S18 he speaks of the Oneidas as having erected a 
handsome Church. The cost of this we learn from an address made by 
the chiefs was between three and four thousand dollars which they had 
raised themselves. The Bishop thus describes his visitation : "On 
my visit to them several hundred assembled for worship ; those who 
could read were furnished with books ; and they uttered the confessions 
of the Liturgy, responded to its supplications, and chanted its hymns of 
praise, with a reverence and fervor which powerfully interested the feel- 
ings of those who witnessed the solemnity. They listened to my address 
io them, interpreted by Mr. Williams, with much solicitous attention ; 
they received the Laying on of Hands with such grateful humility, and 
participated of the symbols of their Saviour's love with such tears of pen- 
itential devotion, that the impression which the scene made upon my 
mind will never be effaced. Nor was this the excitement of the moment, 
or the ebullition of enthusiasm. The eighty-nine who were con- 
firmed had been well instructed by Mr. Williams ; and none were per- 
mitted to approach the Communion whose lives did not correspond with 
their Christian profession." Even after their removal to Wisconsin 
Bishop Hobart still extended to his Indian friends his watchful and pro- 
tecting care. Both he and Bishop Onderdonk visited them in their new 
home. Long years after when a portrait of Bishop Hobart had been 
presented to the congregation and hung in the Church, one very old 



12 THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDA3 

woman asked to see it, and as soon as she could see the face she raised' 
her hands, "So glad, so glad," she said the tears running down her 
face, " Good picture, just like him," was her exclamation ; " he put hi s - 
hands on my head," she said ; " I am so glad to see his good face once 
more. " The old chief also said that the picture looked as he remenr 
bered him. That when he was a young man in New York the Bishop was- 
coming to visit the nation, and a hundred of the men went on horse- 
back five miles to meet him. They formed in line as he rode up, with 
the heads of the horses facing the road, and the Bishop rode past the 
line and took off his hat and bowed to them all. As expressing their 
own spirit, we give an extract from the address thirteen Oneida chiefs 
had sent to him. It was written by a young Indian chief. " Right Rev. 
Father. We salute you in the name of the ever-adorable, ever-blessed, 
and ever-living sovereign Lord of the Univers ; we acknowledge this 
great and Almighty being as our Creator, Preserver and constant Bene- 
factor. Right Rev. Father, we rejoice to say we see now that the Chris- 
tian religion is intended for the good of the Indians as well as the white 
people ; we see it and do feel it that the religion of the Gospel will make 
us happy in this and in the world to come. Right Rev. Father. As the 
head and father of the Holy and Apostolic Church in this state, we 
entreat you to take a special charge of us. We are ignorant, we are 
poor, and need your assistance. Come, venerable father and visit 
your children and warm their hearts by your presence in the things which 
belong to their everlasting peace." The Bishop calling them, " My 
children," addressed them a most earnest and loving exhortation, tell- 
ing them that " The great Father of all hath made of one blood all the 
nations of the earth ; and hath sent His son Jesus Christ to teach all and 
to die for them all that they might be redeemed from the power of sin. " 
He besought them to unite with their Missionary in the Prayers of our 
Apostolic Church, and to receive the Sacraments and ordinances of the 
Church, and in his wise and practical way also said, " My children, let 
me exhort you diligently to labor to get your living by cultivating the 
earth. You will then promote your worldly comfort, you will be more 
respected among your white brethren, and more united and strong; 
among yourselves." We may in our day lay to heart these words of his 
Convention address, "The exertions made for the conversion of the 
Indian tribes have not been so successful, partly because not united with 
efforts to introduce among them, those arts of civilization, without which 
the Gospel can neither be understood nor valued." The Indian must be 
taught and helped to work as well as to pray. 



THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 13 

The Tribal Government and Some Eminent Oneida Chiefs 

The early name given to the meetings of the chiefs was, "The 
•Council Fires." Each Indian tribe was divided into clans. There were 
among the Oneidas three clans, having for their totems the Bear, the 
Wolf, and the Turtle. The chiefs were of two classes, hereditary and 
and council ; the former inherited their rank from their mothers. The 
council chiefs were of later origin and were those who had won recogni- 
tion for their abilities without respect to their parentage, and were 
elected to the office by the clan to which they belonged. 

The tribe had a republican form of government. The elected 
officers were called Sachems and councilors. Sachems held office for 
three years, and Councilors two years. In the olden days there were 
two councils — the special and the general. The special council was 
composed of the chiefs only. When questions came up for decision, a 
general council was called, summoning all the warriors. For these 
assemblies a runner notified all chiefs, warriors and people, and the 
councils were held until the tribal organization ceased, and the people 
became subject to the laws of the State of Wisconsin. 

A conspicuous chief was Skenandoah, whose heroic figure stands out 
so prominently on the side of the English, in the French and Indian 
wars. The first authentic reference that we have to him bears date of 
the beginning of the war of 1775. With other chieftains of his tribe he 
had gone to Albany to be present at a treaty between the Colonial au- 
thorities and the Iroquois. He had not as yet felt the touch of any 
kindly guidance or molding influence, and being a savage of the savages, 
was revengeful and fierce. From an over-free indulgence in liquor, he 
found himself one morning in the gutter, despoiled of all his chieftan's 
ornaments, in fact robbed of almost every stitch of clothing. So 
chagrined and mortified was he, and his pride so humbled, that he vowed 
from that day forward no drop of " strong waters " should pass his lips, 
a determination from which nothing could move him during the sixty re- 
maining years of his life. On one occasion, in his old age, when address- 
ing his people, he is said to have thus adjured them: " Drink no 'strong 
water.' It makes you mice for the white men who are cats. Many a 
meal have they eaten of you." During the American Revolution, 
Skenandoah played an important part. Harold Fredric states that he 
was present among Herkimer's forces at the battle of Oriskany, and 
also that he was the avenger who breasted the swollen waters of West 
Canada Creek, that bleak day in late October of 1781, and killed the 



14 THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 

infamous Tory, Walter Butler. He it was who warned the Settlement 
of German Flats, of the intended descent of Brandt and his Mohawks 
and thus saved the inhabitants from massacre by giving them ample 
opportunity to seek the protecting shelter of Fort Herkimer and Fort 
Dayton. Washington is said to have commended his services. After 
the Revolution he was unquestionably first among the Oneida Sachems. 
Twice his name appears attached to treaties made at Fort Stanwix 
between the Six Nations and the Government of the United States. 
Skenandoah was of commanding figure and a man of great eloquence 
and solid judgment. From his interest and sympathy with the white 
people, from his fidelity to all his engagements with them, he was dis- 
tinguished among the Indians by the appellation of the " White man's 
friend." He became a Christian soon after the establishment of the 
mission to the Indians by the Rev. Samuel Kirkland, about the year 
1764. His Christian character was remarkably strong and well defined, 
A short time before his death, he thus expressed himself to a friend: — 
" I am an aged hemlock ; the winds of an hundred winters have whistled 
through my branches ; I am dead at the top. The generation to which 
I belonged have run away and left me ; why I live the Great Good Spirit 
only knows ; pray to my Jesus that I may have patience to wait for my 
appointed time to die." Skenandoah died at Oneida Castle on the nth 
of March, 1816, aged no years. An account of his death was given in 
the Utica Patriot. The old chief heard prayers read by his great-grand 
daughter who sat at his bedside, and having again expressed the oft- 
repeated desire that his body might be laid to rest beside his friend and 
minister Mr. Kirkland, "that he might cling to the skirts of his gar- 
ments, and go up with him at the great resurrection." When in 1856 
Kirkland's remains were removed to the cemetery of Hamilton College, 
Skenandoah's body was also transferred thither, so the Christian Min- 
ister and the Indian Warrior now sleep side by side in their graves. 
Above the Chief's resting place the Northern Missionary Society erected 
a monument, upon which is engraved an inscription commemorating his 
virtues and noble deeds. 

Foremost among the hereditary Oneida chiefs was another Sken- 
andoah. or " Running Deer," the last of the New York chiefs and one 
of the most famous ones of the West. He was a descendant of the 
Skenandoah whom we have previously described. It was this later 
Skenandoah who headed the Oneidas when they came from New York 
to Wisconsin. In his younger days he was of very striking appearance, 
being six feet tall and weighing about 200 pounds. A most noted orator 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



'5 




CHIEF SKENANDOAH 



of his tribe, he had much to do with its affairs. He was a delegate to 
the conference at Albany, N. Y., when the lands of the tribe in that state 
were sold, and also a representative to Washington when the present 

Reservation was arranged with the author- 
ities. He was looked up to and had much 
authority as an adviser of his people ; he 
retained much personal influence and the 
respect of the tribe until the last. He died 
October 6th, 1897, at the age of eighty-six 
years, and was buried from Hobart 
Church, the Bishop of the Diocese coming 
for the occasion. The chief 's body lay in 
state -for an hour before the service and 
hundreds of the tribe came to show their 
respect for the old chieftain. The scene 
was beautiful and impressive as the coffin 
was borne from the Church and carried 
along the road to the burial ground of the Oneidas, followed by the 
Bishop, the Clergy, the Choir, and a long procession of men, women 
and children, singing their Indian hymns. What a change had taken 
place since with heathen rites they gathered round the Stone. Pagan- 
ism had disappeared. The Cross had won 
its victory. 

Another famous chief of the Oneidas 
and the most noted of all the Council 
Chiefs was the great orator Daniel Bread. 
He was born in New York in the new year 
1796. His love of nature early revealed 
to him many truths, and his young spirit 
was attuned to all her harmonies, so that 
he was lead to higher thoughts of life and 
felt within himself a yearning for a 
broader vision and a wider action. He 
keenly watched the Chiefs in Council and 
stored each word they uttered in his reten- 
tive mind. At the age of 16 he was pre- 
sented at the Council House of the Nation, where his remarkable power 
of speech won for him the recognition as king of orators. 

By common consent he was elected a Council Chief, an office en- 
tirely new to the Nation. During this year he also represented the 




CHIEF BREAD 



l6 THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 

Nation at Washington, and by his arguments, and stern eloquence won 
much regard. 

This was but the beginning; from then on, until the end of his 
career in 1872, he was ever a man of mark and his nation looked up to 
him as a leader. The story of outraged Indians has never been fully 
told. They have been cheated and robbed b)' agents, nor has the 
Government been free from blame. Efforts have been repeatedly made 
to take away the lands which had been granted in exchange for their 
own. 

Let us try and imagine the scene of one of the famous Councils as 
it has been described. Picture the goodly array of Chiefs in coats, 
more, in blankets and decorated with flowers, wampum and vermillion. 
No one has brought his weapon of war, but all have come with the pipe, 
the sacred emblem of peace. They have been called to the council to 
meet the Governor and receive his proposition to sell their country and 
go beyond the Mississippi. This involves the removal of the Menom- 
onees and the three remnants of the New York Indians, the Brother- 
towns, the Stockbridges and Oneidas. They are told they had already 
agreed in 1831 to sell their country whenever the President wished to 
purchase. This clause however had been fraudulently inserted after the 
treaty was signed at Washington. The Brothertown chiefs said their 
tribe had long since lost their own language and had become so entirely 
identified with the whites in manners, habits and pursuits that they were 
reluctant about moving and wished they might be permitted to remain 
as citizens of the United States. The Stockbridges wished first to ex- 
amine the country which the President proposed to give them. It is 
said of the Stockbridges that with their venerable Chief Metoxen at their 
head, they had for a long time professed Christianity, and every morn- 
ing and evening during the session of the Council, they sung hymns to 
the Saviour and offered prayers. 

Their quiet behavior was also remarked upon as being in strong 
contrast with the noise and misconduct of some of the white men. 
The Oneidas were totally averse to removal. The chiefs of the first 
Christian party, as the Oneida's were called, did not come to the 
Council, until they were sent for the third time. And then their speaker, 
Daniel Bread came into prominence. His speech made at this council 
shows the dignity of his clear oratory. 

" Father: What we have long feared has at last come to us. We 
have just settled in this country; have hardly laid down the packs from 
our shoulders and recovered from the fatigue of our journey here, when 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



17 



you wish us again to remove. It is discouraging. It discourages those 
that have come, and those behind. Father: The white men are power- 
ful, and they are rich. You can turn the river of the water; you can 
dig away the mountain, why then do you want the little spot that we 
have ? It is but a little time since, and we possessed the whole country; 
now you have gained all but a few spots. Why will you not permit us 
to remain ? Father : We are thankful for the good example of the white 
man. They have taught us to cultivate our lands ; we wish to follow 
that example still; we have felt the effects of removal. It is like a 
feather blown about by the wind ; we wish to be like those heavy sub- 
stances which stay in the ground. If we are like the feather, we may 
soon be blown beyond the Rocky Mountains. Father : we are in great 
distress. We go to our work, and while cutting down the trees, it seems 
as if a whip were held over us. Something tells us, ' This is not yours.' 
Father: You promise us a good country beyond the Mississippi. We are 
satisfied with the soil and climate where we now are, and besides how 
can we live in peace with the natives there? Informer years, they have 
had war with our people ; we killed many of them ; blood is yet on the 
knife. How can we meet them in peace? Father: we have long shown 
our good feeling to the white man, by giving them room. We have 
given them lands, until they have a greater country than Great Britian. 
It is not yet full. Why then will you not suffer us to remain? The white 
people in our neighborhood do not disturb us ; we wish to live with them 
still ; we want to remain where we are." 

Another interesting figure in the tribe 
is Chief Cornelius Hill. It is noticeable 
how the Indians select and train up their 
chiefs. It was while at school at Nasho- 
tah that Cornelius Hill was made a chief 
of the Bear Clan, when only thirteen years 
of age. Upon his return to the reserva- 
tion a national feast was given in his honor 
at which all the other clans were present. 
The new chief took the name and the 
place of one of their oldest chiefs, known 
as Great Medicine. He was the youngest 
and consequently is the last chief of the 
CHIEF HILL Oneidas. When about eighteen years of age 

he began to go with the chiefs to council and received honor from them. 
For a number of years he was made treasurer of the annuities paid by 




T 8 the church's mission to the oneidas 

the U. S. Government. He was chosen with one other to take the cen- 
sus of the tribe which in 1856 numbered one thousand. The last census 
gives us a population of two thousand. Chief Hill was chosen Sachem 
and held the office for several terms. He was early chosen a delegate 
to our Church Councils, and he has loyally upheld her Missionaries since 
the time of Bishop Kemper. When there was some opposition to a Mis- 
sionary who was opposing the sale of their lands and the removal of the 
tribe, and some, instigated by the Government agent, made menacing 
speeches advocating the removal of the Missionary, Chief Hill quietly 
said, " Well if you do get rid of the Missionary, it will be over my dead 
body." It was by his brave support that the Missionary was protected, 
and it is due to both, that the Oneidas remain unmolested in their peace- 
ful homes to-day. In order to show that -the Oneidas have not pur- 
chased this peace without a struggle we quote from an article written 
many years ago by Chief Hill, when an attempt was made to remove the 
Indians farther West, and much pressure was brought to bear upon all 
the chiefs to sell their lands. He describes the life and manners of his 
people in the past and shows their steady advancement in the paths of 
civilization, and then very justly says, " The whites are not willing to 
give us time to become civilized, but we must remove to some barbarous 
country as soon as civilization approaches us. The whites claim to be 
civilized, and from them we must learn the arts and customs of civilized 
life. The civilization at which I and the greater part of my people aim, 
is one of truth and honor; one that will raise us to a higher state of 
existence here on earth, and fit us for a blessed one in the next world. 
For this civilization we intend to strive — right here where we are — being 
sure that we shall find it no sooner in the wilds beyond the Mississippi. 
1 Progress' is our motto, and you who labor to deprive us of this small 
spot of God's footstool, will labor in vain. We will not sign your treaty; 
no amount of money can tempt us to sell our people. You say our 
answer must be given to-day. You can't be troubled any longer with 
these Council Meetings. You shall have your wish — and it is one that 
you will hear every time you seek to drive us from our lands — No." 

The following pen-picture of two of the older men of the tribe closes 
the account of our chiefs and great men. Among them were two nearly 
the same age ; they were intelligent, active, industrious and enjoyed the 
respect and confidence of their people. . They were formerly of differ- 
ent clans ; the totem of the one being the turtle, of the other, the bear. 
Some little jealousy was excited, and the turtle chief looked with envious 
eyes upon his neighbor. The disposition of the bear chief was any- 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS ig 

thing rather than that indicated by his totem — he was mild, peaceable 
and retiring, and moreover, beloved for his piety as a Christian. Find- 
ing that the jealousy of his brother chief was likely to mar the harmony 
of their public councils he voluntarily signified his intention to act no 
more as a chief. " Brothers," said he, " you must no longer look upon 
me as a chief ; from this time I wish you to regard me as a little child." 
He ever afterwards absented himself from the council fire, and would 
have no voice in public affairs. When, by treaty, he with other chiefs, 
was to receive five hundred dollars, he refused even to sign the receipt 
upon which the money could be drawn. He thought the peace and 
harmony of his tribe, of more account. He had rather be hidden, and 
esteem others better than himself. There are few white men who might 
not take a lesson of humility and simplicity from this Oneida chief. The 
bad side of the Indian has often been painted, and his bravery, endur- 
ance and skill often dwelt upon. The poets have told us of the devo- 
tion of his love and the fidelity of his friendship. But there is also a 
very touching beauty of moral perception hidden beneath his rugged 
nature. 



The Church History of the Oneidas 

We have with our fondness for the past, lingered among its legends 
and the stories of its heroes. We wish that we could make others see 
the vision, and hear the voices of the fading past, but we must hasten 
on to answer the question rising in our readers' minds. What of the 
Oneidas to-day? It is no exaggeration to say that the first interest of the 
tribe centers round its Church, and the church history of these people 
is most interesting and 
instructive. On the 
removal of the Oneidas 
to Wisconsin one of the 
first buildings erected by 
them was a little log 
Church. Photography 
was then an almost 
unknown art, and there 
is no picture of this first 
house, built to the glory 
of God and the service 

of the people. The 

r r LOG CHURCH— BUILT ABOUT 1822 




THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 




accompanying sketch was made from a description of it given by one of 
the very old women of the tribe who can just remember how the build- 
ing looked. In this building the Oneidas worshipped until a frame 
Church was built and consecrated by Bishop Kemper in 1839. It was 
the first Church in Wisconsin, but from this root, poor and humble as 
it looks, the present strong and healthy work has grown. 

The first Missionary to the Indians in 
Wisconsin, was the Rev. Eleazer Williams. 
Much romance is interwoven in the story of 
his life, and from various sources we have 
gathered the following account of this 
remarkable man. Mr. Williams was born 
at St. Regis, New York, near Lake George, 
May 1788. He was considered to be a 
descendant of the Rev. Mr. Williams who 
resided in the frontier village of Deerfield, 
Mass., which was sacked and plundered 
in one of the inroads of the Indians on 
the white settlement, and the wife and 
children of the minister, who was absent, 
were carried off as prisoners. Upon his 
return to a desolate home the distracted 
father set oft immediately in search of his family, but years elapsed 
before any trace of them was found. When at last he found them 
the children who had survived were unwilling to return to their own 
people, and like many other captives they had cast^in their lot with their 
captors by marriage. The children of the marrirge of one of the 
daughters, Eunice Williams, with a chief of the tribe assumed the name 
of Williams and from this family Eleazer Williams derived his name 
and lineage. Williams lived among the St. Regis Indians until the age 
of fourteen. Early in life he became greatly interested in the work of 
evangelizing the Indians of New York, and in 1815 desiring to know and 
understand the teachings of the Episcopal Church went from Oneida, 
Central New York, to see and take counsel of Bishop Hobart, who 
received him with great cordiality. In 1822 Mr. Williams led his people 
from New York to Wisconsin to the lands which the United States Gov- 
ernment had set apart for them. He was made a lay reader, catechist 
and schoolmaster by Bishop Hobart, at the earnest request of the heads 
of the Nation. On July 18th, 1826, he was ordained a deacon at Ver- 
non, Oneida County, N. Y. During the same year he asked to be 



THE REV. ELEAZER WILLIAMS 

The First Missionary to the Oneidas 

1822-1830 



THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 21 

appointed a Missionary to the Oneidas. His request was granted and 
in August he began his work among them. In addition to his other 
labors he translated the Prayer Book into the Mohawk tongue, and pub- 
lished an Indian spelling book. An extract from a letter, published in 
a western paper, says of Mr. Williams, "That his work among the Onei- 
das was one of lasting benefit to the whole tribe and he is gratefully 
remembered to-day as the first minister who really taught them as a 
people the doctrines of Christ." Mr. Williams was a man of exceptional 
gifts. He wrote music and poetry, and preached excellent sermons of 
great length and earnestness. In the earlier part of his life he con- 
ceived the ambitious scheme of removing the New York Indians to Wis- 
consin and there organizing them into a great federation, and to accom- 
plish this end he made his first western trip in 1820, but was met by 
numerous obstacles and obliged to abandon the enterprise. Persisting, 
however, he persuaded John C. Calhoun to favor the plan, and through 
his aid he was enabled to make another attempt, this time under Gov- 
ernment patronage. It was necessary in order to successfully carry 
out this scheme of imigration of the New York Indians to obtain the 
consent of the Menominee and Winnebago tribes, and for this purpose 
he arranged for a great council at Green Bay. As a preliminary to the 
treaty the Winnebago warriors entertained the visitors with a great war 
dance. However at the conclusion of the dance the Winnebagoes 
departed, and with them vanished the dream of an Indian Empire. A 
treaty was made with the Menominees which existed several years, but 
Williams was unable to fulfill his promises, and the treaty was finally 
broken. The New York Indians thus found themselves in a strange 
country, without a home. At this time the United States Government 
concluded a treaty with the Oneidas, giving them 65,000 acres of land 
in the State of Wisconsin, in consideration of yielding their lands in 
New York. 

About the year 1842 a widespread interest was aroused concerning 
Mr. Williams. It was claimed that he was the lost Dauphin of France, 
the son of Louis XVI, and Marie Antoinette. It was believed tbat the 
young Prince had been secretly taken from his prison in Paris, and 
brought to America by a secret agent of the royal family, and placed in 
an Indian family in New York. A Frenchman named Belanger stated 
on his deathbed that he had brought the young Prince to America and 
left him with an Indian family in New York. When his supposed 
Indian mother was interrogated she refused to state whether or not 
Eleazer Williams was her own son. Upon looking up records it was 



THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



discovered that while the birth of all her other children had been duly 
Recorded, this child's birth had been omitted. As the family w e re 
Roman Catholics and very strict in the matter of recording births, it 
seemed a little singular that this particular child should be forgotten, 
and the fact went far to corroborate the tale of his royal birth. In later 
life his resemblance to the Bourbons was very striking, and he also pos- 
sessed many characteristics of their Princes. In 1841 Prince de Join- 
ville visited America and had an interview with Mr. Williams at Green 
Bay. According to Mr. Williams' account of the interview, it was said 
that the Prince told him of his probable origin and tried to induce him 
to sign a formal abdication of the throne of France. Investigation of 
the claims brought many interesting facts to light and the affair created 
intense excitement. Many people of high moral character gave credence 
to the claim. It was the foundation of many a story, that of " The 
Lost Prince " in Harper's Magazine being the most interesting. But 
minute inquiries failed to substantiate his claims. The excitement 
gradually subsided and Eleazer Williams after a short period of exalta- 
tion, went back to his former life, and died in obscurity at St. Regis, 
August 28th, 1858. 

Mr. Williams was succeeded in 1830 
by the Rev. Richard F. Cadle, the pioneer 
Missionary of Wisconsin, who remained 
with them until 1836. Then the guide of 
one of the later parties from New York to 
the West, the Rev. Solomon Davis, or 
" Priest Davis " as he was generally called 
was settled over them for eleven years. It 
was during this time, in 1842, that the Rev. 
James Lloyd Breck and the Rev. William 
Adams, the founders of Nashotah House, 
were advanced to the Priesthood. It was 
their desire to be ordained in a consecra- 
ted Church, but there were at that time 
only two such buildings in the whole Ter- 
ritory of Wisconsin— the Church of the Oneidas, and the Church at 
Green Bay. The Ordination took place at Oneida. The journey 
from Nashotah was made on foot with an occasional lift in a lumber 
wagon, and occupied four days each way. As a memorial of the event 
the Indians gave them the old bell «« Michael," which for many years 
hung in an oak tree near the house, and though its position has been 




REV. RICHARD CADLE 
Missionary 1830 1836 



THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 23 

changed, this same bell still calls to duty and prayer at Nashotah House. 
On their return to Nashotah the Revs. Adams and Breck took with them 
three Oneida lads, and one of them, the Rev. Cornelius, Hill, has for 
some time been our Indian Deacon and Interpreter. While we are giv- 
ing an account of the pioneer missionaries in Wisconsin we may let one 
of them speak for himself. In the "Gospel Messenger," under date of 
Dec. 14th, 1836, he thus writes : 

"After encountering excessive fatigues and difficulties I reached 
this place on the evening of the 30th of November. I was confined to 
my room some time from the excessive exertions it became necessary to 
make during the last days of my journey. When we entered the Bay 
we found the navigation closed by the ice, and no possibility of approach- 
ing the head of the Bay by vessel. The Captain therefore made Menom- 
inee river where the vessel is expected to winter. From that place to 
the Mission is between sixty and seventy miles by water, and the dis- 
tance is much increased by following the indentations of the coast. Of 
course it is a dense wilderness the whole distance. No roads and no 
alternative but to find my way along the beach on the ice. To add to 
my difficulties I had my eldest son with me, aged eleven years. For 
him to walk that distance was entirely out of the question, and to leave 
him that distance from any white settlement, in the heart of an Indian 
country, required greater strength of nerve than I possessed. Under 
the circumstances I obtained an Indian hunting sled, wrapped my son 
in some Indian blankets and placed him upon the sled. I obtained two 
stout Indians as guides, and they drew the sled. We exchanged our 
boots for moccasins, and with some provisions furnished by an Indian 
woman who became much interested for my little boy, we commenced 
our journey through immense masses of ice in following the beach, for 
on the west side of the Bay are extensive swamps, not yet sufficiently 
frozen to admit our crossing them. We traveled about twenty-five miles 
the first day and encamped for the night upon the beach. 

"It being intensely cold I obtained some cedar boughs on which I lay 
down, with the snow for my pillow, and the heavens for my covering, 
and taking my son into my arms drew my cloak close around him. In this 
manner I passed one of the most painful and anxious nights of my life. 
The next morning, we commenced our journey again. The loose bodies 
of ice were now united, sufficiently to bear us, where the day before the 
ice left large open places. Our guides continued their Indian pace until 
four o'clock in the afternoon when we came to a small river, on the 
banks of which we found a white family residing, for the purpose of 



24 THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 

lumbering. Here we obtained a cup of hot coffee, the first warm article 
that had entered my mouth for two days. Here we remained until the 
next morning. My feet were much swollen from traveling upon the ice, 
and were so painful that sleep was impossible through the night, and the 
next morning the attempt to walk was so painful as to be sickening. Still 
the thought of being thirty miles from home added to my resolution to 
attempt it once more. Our guides were resolute to go through, but for 
me to walk in my crippled condition for thirty miles appeared impossible. 
But after walking a few miles I found my feet less painful and we con- 
tinued our journey without interruption until near night, when we ap- 
proached the village, having walked thirty miles. Here I discharged the 
guides and drew my son on the sled the rest of the way. At the village 
I met a friend who kindly took us into his sleigh, and in a short time 
I was in the arms of my family. The kindness of these poor Indians 
to us on this occasion was most gratifying, particularly the Indian 
woman mentioned. Although she could not speak a word of English she 
saw our situation and did everything in her power to assist us. She ob- 
tained the guides for us, provided moccasins, showed us how to guard 
against freezing, provided such provisions for us as we had, and actually 
drew a pair of mittens from the hands of her son and put them on to 
my son's hands, over a pair he had already on. And when I offered 
her money to compensate for her kindness she refused, and replied to 
me through an interpreter, that she could not receive any compensation, 
for she might, she knew not how soon, want assistance, and if I never 
had an opportunity to repay her, if I would do it to any of her people 
whom I might find in distress it was all she asked of me. Noble, phil- 
anthropic woman ! Though she is of the tawny children of the forest, 
wild and uncultivated with no distinct ideas of God, of a Saviour, or of 
the Gospel salvation, still she has a better title to the appellation of the 
Good Samaritan than thousands who never think of these people but as 
beings unworthy of the least regard, as savages fit only to be annihilated. 
I trust and pray that in that day when Jesus Christ shall make up His 
jewels, a far more glorious reward will be allotted her than could be 
rendered in this life." 

It is a matter of much regret to the compiler of this book that there 
is so little data to be obtained of the work done by the Revs. Cadle, Davis 
and Haff. But from the old pages of the Gospel Messenger we gather 
the following notes of those good men. Rev. Solomon Davis writes June 
ist, 1836 : "This day was spent in visiting and in religious conversa- 
tion among my parishioners. On approaching a house, at about the 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 25 

going down of the sun, I distinctly heard a person at prayer. I waited 
at the door till the Amen was pronounced when, on entering, it proved 
to be the mistress of the family offering up her evening sacrifice. How 
gratifying and cheering to the soul to find one of my dear people thus 
employed." 

There is a temper and spirit truly Christain in the following, from 
the letter of the Rev. Solomon Davis. They who thus take "joyfully 
the spoiling of their goods " for Jesus' sake, will not lose their reward, 
let the world frown as it may. " Dec. 9th, 1837: While at Green Bay 
yesterday, with a view of forwarding my missionary report by the Chi- 
cago mail, I received the unwelcome intelligence of the destruction of 
my dwelling house by fire. On my leturn to the Mission I find that not 
only the house but nearly all it contained is reduced to ashes. My 
library, of about 500 volumes, is entirely destroyed, as iseven our wear- 
ing apparel, etc. The fire took from the chimney and the wind being 
very high, the work was quickly done. The property (though of little 
value) which we regard as belonging to our committee is safe, viz., the 
Missionary, his wife and daughter, and, by the blessing of God, are in 
good health and spirits." In another letter dated Sept. 16th, 1841, 
Mr. Davis writes concerning the Oneidas : "Their customs and pecul- 
iarities after a lapse of twenty years ( during which period the present 
Missionary has been among them ) have finally been made to disappear, 
and their advancement in civilization is beyond that of any other tribe 
within my knowledge. They are becoming an agricultural people, with 
fairly comfortable homes. They have, also, a Church edifice, in good 
taste, and possessing all the requisites for a worshiping assembly. 
Divine service is well attended and everything pertaining thereto done 
' decently and in order.' Nearly one hundred out of a population of 
five hundred souls are professed followers of the Lord Jesus Christ." 
In August 1838, Bishop Kemper paid his first visit to Oneida, the occa- 
sion being the laying of the corner-stone of a new Church soon to be 
built. This was the first ceremony of the kind that the Indians had ever 
seen, and no small interest was manifested by them. A large number 
of chiefs and warriors went on horseback and met the Bishop about five 
miles from the Mission. When they met, the Indians were told by 
Chief Daniel Bread that " They were now in the presence of their spirit- 
ual father, who had no doubt been sent by the Good Spirit to see his red 
children, the Oneidas, and to do them good." The Indians, at this pre- 
sentation, uncovered their heads and bowed most respectfully. They 
hen opened ranks, and the Bishop and Clergy passed through and were 



26 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



escorted to the Church. The Services began by chanting the Te Deum 
in the Indian language. At the close of the Service the congregation 
formed in a procession, and with the Bishop and Clergy went to the site 
of the new Church, which was on an elevation overlooking the settle- 
ment. The services at 
this place were solemn 
and impressive. The 
deposits were placed in a 
tin box under the stone 
by the chief orator of the 
tribe. A memorandum 
was placed with other 
documents as follows : 
" This corner-stone was 
laid on the seventh day 
of August, A. D. 1836, 
by the Rt. Rev. Father 
in God, Jackson Kemper, 
Bishop of Missouri and 
Indiana, the first Mis- 
sionary Bishop of the 
Protestant Episcopal 
Church in the United 
States." Four of the 
chiefs then took hold of 
the stone at each corner, 
and placed it in position. 
The Gloria in Excelsis 
was sung and after an 
address by the Rev. 
Richard Cadle the Service closed with the Bishop's benediction. In the 
following year Bishop Kemper again visited Oneida for the purpose of 
consecrating the First Episcopal Church in the Territory of Wisconsin. 
This consecration took place on September 2nd, 1839. The service was 
indeed most interesting. The Bishop accompanied by the Missionary, 
the Rev. Solomon Davis, was received at the door of the Church by the 
chiefs of the nation. After being seated within the chancel the instru- 
ment of donation was presented to him by four of the oldest chiefs in 
the tribe, each taking hold of it by the corner, and in this manner plac- 
ing it in the hands of their chief spiritual Father. After being read by 




RT. REV. BISHOP KEMPER 
(From a photograph taken about the year 1 838) 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



27 



the Missionary, it was returned to the Bishop and placed by him upon 
ihe Altar. The Bishop then performed the usual consecration service, 
-certain portions of which were interpreted to the Indians. At the close 
of the service the chiefs and head men of the nation came in front of 
"the chancel, each placing his hand, as he came up, upon the shoulder of 
the other, and in this way forming a half circle in the presence of the 
Bishop. The Missionary stood in the center, and the Chief nearest to 




HOBART CHURCH-BUILT IN 1839 

him on each side placed a hand upon his shoulder, while he read in their 
behalf the following address : 

To the Right Reverend Father in God, Jackson Kemper, D. D. : 
" Right Reverend Father: The chiefs of the Oneidas cannot suffer you 
to depart from their nation without expressing their sincere thanks for 
your kindness in visiting them at this time. The journey of our father 
has been long. His children are thankful that the Great Spirit has 
brought him through it in safety. His presence has made our hearts 
glad. We will long remember the solemn services of this day. Our house 
is now ' holy place.' It is duly prepared. It is made sacred to the wor- 



2 8 THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDA3 

ship of the Great and Eternal Spirit. Right Reverend Father : It is a 
matter of joy to us that the good work is done. But your children will 
not stop here. It shall be our endeavor to go on and do as you have 
told us to do. Here, from time to time, we will come. We will bring 
our families with us. We will try to worship the God of Christians with 
sincere hearts. By hearing the good words of the Gospel we may learn 
how to live well, and how thus we may finally be prepared to die well — 
our days may end in peace. Right Reverend Father : Your children 
now feel that they are brought very near to you. The Great Council of 
the Church has granted our heart's desire. It was our choice that as 
God's chief minister, you should preside over us. Our wishes are grat- 
ified. The decision of the Great Council was good news in our ears 
Could we sit near their council-fire when it is lighted up again, we 
would thank them with one heart and one voice for what they have done. 
Right Reverend Father : You will be there. Thank them for your 
children. Right Reverend Father : We are now about to do what we 
could not do when last you visited us. A chain of friendship is to be 
formed, which we trust will never be broken. We now extend to you 
the hand of the nation. We acknowledge you, and will hereafter hold 
on to you as our lawful Bishop. Our eyes will turn to you, and to you. 
alone, for counsel and advice in all our spiritual affairs. May the chain 
now thrown around us, never become dim. May it bind us together in 
peace and friendship, as long as life shall last. Father, your children 
will take care to keep it bright. This is all they have to say." 

The Bishop then took the Missionary by the hand ( the chiefs stilL 
keeping their position ) and replied as follows : " My children : I deeply 
feel the solemnities and responsibilities of this moment. It has afforded 
me much pleasure to visit you and to consecrate your neat and hand- 
some Church to the worship of Almighty God. My children : I have 
beheld with pleasure your dwellings, barns and farms, and am convinced 
that if you persevere in your honest, temperate and industrious habits, 
your earthly comforts, under the blessing of our Heavenly Father, will 
constantly increase. My children : I cordially unite myself to you as 
your Father in the Lord, and fervently pray that the blessing of the 
Great Spirit may ever rest upon this nation. I will always endeavor to 
keep bright the chain of friendship now formed. Here may we often 
worship God together as brothers in sincerity and truth, and hereafter, 
where there will be no more sin, or pain or death, may unite in praises 
and thanksgiving which will never end. May God bless you, my chil- 
dren. Farewell." 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



29 



Our last extract from the Gospel Messenger gives us this descrip- 
tion of a cottage service in the early days at Oneida. " Our visit was 
to the home of old Margaret Skenandoah, the daughter of the Oneida 
Chief Skenandoah, who was known as the friend of Washington. She 
lives by herself in a little cottage, attended by some of her children and 
grandchildren, who provide for her necessities. About thirty of her 
neighbors had gathered to receive with her the Blessed Sacrament. The 
little congregation was seated, some on chairs or chests ranged about 
the side of the room, and others upon a bed in the corner. A table 
stood in the center of the room, covered with a white cloth and had upon 
it the sacred vessels. Old Margaret, with her hair of silvery beauty, 
sat in a chair, wrapped in a show white blanket. The rest of her cos- 
tume consisted of the general apparel worn by the Oneida women, with 
leggins and beaded moccasins. On either side of her, in picturesque 
solemnity, were seated a group of women enveloped in white blankets. 
The floor was scoured to utmost cleanness, and a faggot fire in the open 
fire-place added a warmth to the chilly day. The service began with a 
hymn sung in the Indian language ; a prayer was offered in Oneida, a 
short address followed, which was interpreted. The Communion Ser- 
vice was in English, and after another hymn, the communicants present 
knelt around the little Altar and received with great reverence the Sac- 
rament, after which the concluding prayers were said, the Gloria in 
Excelsis sung and the Benediction pronounced. The meek and quiet 
spirit which pervaded this Oneida cottage service was a blessed evidence 
of its sincere Christian devotion." 

In the year 1847 the Rev. F. R. Haff succeeded the Rev. Solomon 
Davis as Missionary to the Oneidas, and 
was in charge of the Mission until 1852. 
Father Haff is still a working priest in the 
Diocese, revered and loved by his old In- 
dian congregation, but his treasury of 
reminiscences, by his love of hiddenness 
and self-effacement, is closed to us. 

On October 16th, 1853, Rev. Edward 
A. Goodnough succeeded Rev. F. R. Haff 
as Missionary to the Oneida Indians, 
which position he held until his death, a 
period of thirty-six years, during which 
time he never failed to perform his duties 
each . Sunday, save three times, when 




THE REV. F. R. HAFF 
[Missionary 1847-1852 



3° 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 




THE REV. E. A. GOODNOUGH 
Missionary 1853-1890 



sickness prevented him from so doing. He began his labors in the 
little frame church built in 1839. Mr. Goodnough, although of a. 
retiring disposition was a man of staunch purpose and devoted his 
life to the spiritual growth and temporal welfare of his people. He was 
to them a father, friend and priest ; a sharer in all their joys, and a com- 
forter in times of sorrow. He taught them 
rin a spirit of love and sympathy and so 
won them to a higher life. During his 
long stay among them the Indians were 
encouraged to speak the English language 
and adopt the manners and customs of the 
white people. Frame buildings began to 
be erected, and improved farm machinery 
used in the cultivation of the land. The 
Women's Guild was organized and did 
much good work for the support of the 
Church. The inception of a much needed 
new stone Church was brought about by 
his untiring energy, for the old Church 
had suffered the glorious but remarkable 
experience of being " worn out." The Indians had indeed done all in 
their power to keep the old Church in repair. At one time when they 
had long been waiting for sufficient snow to go into the woods for lum- 
ber, they took advantage of the first good sledding to draw logs to the 
mill. Although the earnings of the day's work were greatly needed by 
them, seventy-five poor Indians brought all they received as an offering 
to the Church to help re-shingle it. The Indian women picked black- 
berries and made rush mats, and then walked miles to sell them for the 
Church. Work on the new building was begun in 1870, and it is due to 
Mr. Goodnough's efficient aid and persistency that the plans were car- 
ried out in spite of many obstacles, hindrances, vexing opposition and 
disappointments. The Indians were greatly interested in the project, 
and gave time and labor in quarrying stone, hewing and hauling timber 
to the site of the contemplated building. At one time eighty men pledged 
themselves to give every Monday to this work. Festivals were held 
from time to time, the proceeds of which went into the ever increasing 
fund for the new Church. The amount raised was about #200 a year, 
which was deposited in a bank at Green Bay. In 1884 about 300 cords 
of stone had been quarried and hauled to the grounds, much of the 
needed timber was on hand, and the savings amounted to nearly $3,000. 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



31 



The building contract had just been signed when the bank at Green 
Bay failed, and the consecrated savings of years were lost. The out- 
look was discouraging, but Mr. Goodnough succeeded in interesting 
many in his cherished plan, and assistance came in from various sources 
until the sum of $5,000 was raised and so the work went on. On July 
13th, 1886, the corner stone was laid by the Right Reverend John Henry 

H o b a r t Brown, fi r st 
Bishop of the Diocese of 
Fond du Lac. So many 
and bitter had been the 
disappointments of the 
Indians that it was hard 
to realize that the long 
looked for event was 
actually to take place, 
until it was known that 
the Bishop had arrived 
at Oneida. At half past 
ten the people assem- 
bled at the Mission 
House, and were mar- 
shalled by their chief, 
Cornelius Hill, in four 
divisions, under beauti- 
ful banners which had 
been sent for the occa- 
sion from the Cathedral. 
An immense congrega- 
tion was present and a 
large ni ruber received 
the Holy Communion. Immediately after the service -in the Church 
the people and clergy walked around the foundation, singing apprcpnaie 
psalms. The Bishop having laid the corner stone, made a brief address, 
commending the tribe for their faith and patience with which they. had 
labored and waited for this day. He dwelt on the goodness of God in 
condescending to have an abode on earth, and pointed out the gracious 
uses of his holy places. Chiefly he enjoined the people to remember that 
their sacred temple was a monument of the Incarnation. of their Saviour. 
All through the summer and autumn the work on the Church was 
pushed on rapidly, the Indians giving their labor day after .day. As 




RT. REV. BISHOP BROWN 



32 



THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



Christmas drew near their desire to use the Church for which they had 
toiled and waited for the last sixteen years, became so intense that Mr. 
Goodnough begged Bishop Brown to come and dedicate it. At six o'clock 
on Christmas eve the Church was filled. The Benediction service was 
said partly at the door and partly at the chancel. The Bishop preached 
the sermon congratulating the people on the success of their sacrifices 
and toils. On Christmas morning a large congregation thronged the 
new Church. The Holy Communion was celebrated, nearly two hun- 




HOBART CHURCH 
(Corner stone laid in 1886. Church opened Christmas of the same year.) 

dred persons receiving. Taken all in all, it was a wonderful service and 
scene. The offertory amounted to nearly fifty dollars. A simple but 
beautiful token of their love for their spiritual father was given by the 
tribe. One of the Missionary's daughters was lately stricken with paral- 
ysis and brought back to her father's home. After the Christmas eve 
service a little basket was placed in the Missionary's hand. The Bishop 
opened it and found that it contained two bags of money and the inscrip- 
tion ' ' Merry Christmas for Miss Alice. ' ' It moved the heart of the Mis- 
sionary most deeply and added much to the great joy which the blessed 
feast had brought to him and his loved people. So long as Hobart 
Church stands it will be the monument of the prayers, labors and self- 
sacrifice of this devoted man. Mr. Goodnough was not without the 
severe trials which God allows to perfect the character of his servants. 
There was for a time a strong party under the domination of those who 
sought to remove the Oneidas from their reservation. This faction was 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 33 

determined that the Church should not be built. The first step was to 
get the Missionary out of the way. For as they said, "We can do 
nothing with the Indians as long as Goodnough is here. " And so they re- 
sorted to all kinds of petty annoyances, and so far succeeded in making a 
party against him, that the little he received from the Church and Gov- 
jernment was withdrawn. His sole support for a number of years came 
from the faithful Indians alone. When as a final calamity the Mission 
House was burned, " Now," they said, "they were sure the Missionary 
would have to go !" No, the poor old school house was left, and became 
a shelter for the Missionary and his family from March to August. 
Crowded indeed were the quarters and scanty and poor the fare. Money 
in those days was not plentiful in the Missionary's home, yet by rigid 
economy he was enabled to add his mite to the dear Church. The car- 
pet, credence, two chancel windows and four in the nave were his own 
personal gifts. The sweetness of his Christian character is shown in 
the report made to his Bishop when the new Church was built. " The 
stone Church has been completed. This work has occupied our thoughts 
and our energies, for the half of a generation. We feel deeply thankful 
to God for His gracious goodness to us in permitting us to behold this 
solid structure standing here, a witness of His loving kindness towards 
us, His unworthy servants. We are truly thankful to our Father in 
iGod, who has gently led us on, step by step, and has so faithfully taught 
us to work on in patience and peace, leaving results to Him who knows 
how and when to reward His poorest and most obscure servants. We 
[heartily thank all those beloved children of our Heavenly Father who 
have aided us with their money and their prayers, without whose aid it 
[would likely have been impossible for us to have built this house. We 
have it in our hearts also to thank those who have felt it to be their duty 
to oppose and hinder our work of building this Church, because the 
harder labor their hindrances imposed upon us, has made it all the more 
dear to us, and awakened a zeal and a trust in and for God in our hearts 
which can never be quenched by any devices of the evil one." 

A little anecdote shows also his wonderful patience with those who 
do not readily change old ideas and customs. During the early part of 
Mr. Goodnough's ministry the services of the Church were read from the 
Mohawk Prayer Book. Some years before his death Mr. Goodnough 
suggested to the chiefs and head men in the Church that the service 
be read in English, saying, when they were ready, the change would be 
made. Eighteen years after, they came to him to say that after careful 
consideration they had decided to make this change. 



34 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



He died on St. Paul's day, January 25th, 1890, in the sixty-fifth 
year of his age. The funeral took place from Hobart Church on Tues- 
day, January 28th. The Church was filled with Indians, whose genu- 
ine signs of grief bore evidence of their great love for their friend and 
pastor, and later found expression in the erection of a handsome monu- 
ment, costing about $250, the entire gift of the Indians. The inscrip- 
tion on the monument well expresses the deserved honor of this noble 
Missionary of the Church : 

" Beneath this stone, awaiting the Resurrection, lies the body of 

Edward^Augustus Goodnough 

for thirty-six years pastor and friend of the oneidas." 

" I have fought the good fight." 

"I thank my God for every remembrance of thee.''' 

" This stone of remembrance is erected by his grateful children in the 

Lord, the Indians of Hobart Church, Oneida. " 

The Rev. Solomon S. Burleson took 
charge of the work at Oneida in April 
1891. Mr. Burleson, having made several 
visits to the Reservation before accepting, 
the position as Missionary, saw many 
things to be done. He therefore went to 
Washington and presented the needs of the 
people to the Commissioner of Indian 
Affairs, and it was through his representa- 
tion that the Government boarding school 
was established, and the bridge built over 
Duck Creek. The Mission grounds also 
were made attractive, and the house re 
modeled without and within, the necessary 
funds being furnished by the Bishop of the 
Diocese. The great need of a resident physician was sadly evident at the 
time of Mr. Burleson's coming. But having studied medicine, previous 
to taking Holy Orders, he was enabled with the help of a small grant] 
by the Government for a supply of medicine, to give medical attendance 
to those who needed care. He was also the dentist, and his knowledge 
of law fitted him to give advice to his people upon all matters of a legal 
nature. He was a man of resolute will and quick to see and carry out | 
any plans for the advancement ofCthe mission work. In the first yeai 
of his residence he had repeated calls to attend sick people, and during 




REV. SOLOMON S. BURLESON 
Missionary 1891-1897 



: 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 35 

the cold winter months he traveled miles over rough roads to visit those 
who were lying ill, many of them in homes unfitted for their recovery. 
I wonder if our readers can imagine what must be the visit of him who 
is both doctor and missionary, in a country where the thermometer 
frequently registers twenty below zero, and when the snow sometimes 
lies on a level with the tops of the fences. The following extracts from 
his letters give an account of some of his labors : " From Christmas to 
Epiphany I slept in a bed only six times, the rest of the nights were 
spent by the side of sick beds. Pity it is that my sixty years are begin- 
ning to unfit me in some ways for the work which I would willingly do. 
The hard part is that I cannot trust any of them to do the nursing, but 
must tend to it myself. Churchmen, Methodists, and Romanists, I at- 
tend alike. Some of them manifest gratitude, some do not. Perhaps 
it matters little, but when oue gives all that is in him to help another's 
sufferings, a little gratitude goes a great ways .... And yet, there 
omes to me the memory of the words of a brave, faithful, little woman, 
who, after a fearful operation, laid her hand upon my shoulder and said, 
Dear father, do you think the good Father in Heaven will let me live?" 
jWhen I told her that I trusted He would, she said : " Then you will 
thank Him in my house, and tell Him when I am well enough, I go thank 
Him in His " . . . . Or again, another incident, when just after Christ- 
mas, I was attending Z. X., who was suffering from congestion of the 
lungs and erysipelas. The fact that he had been in a saloon fight only 
nakes it all the more certain that it was Z. I had taken care of him all 
tright, and just as it was getting daylight, he passed his hand under his- 
oillow, and drew out a Prayer Book, which he held suggestively. I 
ksked him if he would like me to have prayers with him. Conceive of 
(iiy surprise to receiving in answer an empathetic "You bet!" After 
ny prayers he looked up and said : "Your medicine, that is good ; but 
four prayer, that is better " . . . . " The thermometer registered twenty 
degrees below zero this morning when I was called to go and see a child 
sick with pneumonia. It is a desperate case. Eight in the family, one 
oom, cooking, washing, etc., done there, doors and walls reeking with 
noisture, ice on the bottom of the window-panes an inch thick, the air 
yf the room suffocating, partly from the foulness, partly from vapor, 
md a case of pneumonia which they expected that ' the doctor ' was 
oing to cure at once. This is a sample case of many, and you will not 
a t wonder that I sigh from the depth of my heart for a decent place where 
he suffering can have a fair chance for life. I am well aware that 
Hospitals cannot be erected and sustained without money, a commodity 



36 THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 

which missionaries never have in excess, but if any one desires to enjoy, 
an honest heart-ache, I can furnish him an opportunity in the homes of 
these poor Indians at any time when it is too cold for them to sleep out 
of doors." 

It was out of such a 
need as this that the 
Oneida Hospital grew. 
The experiences of the 
winter when this letter 
was written made plain 
the need of it, and so the 
Mission a r y's youngest 
daughter laid away 
thirty-six cents, with 
which to start a building 
fund. In a little over a 
year God sent to the Mis- 
sionary more than fif- 
teen hundred dollars, 
and when the corner 




II 



ONEIDA HOSPITAL 



stone of the Hospital was laid on St. John Baptist's Day, June 24, 1893, 
among other things placed in it, was a sealed envelope containing thai 
first thirty-six cents. In the Spring of 1895 the work of adding the new 
chancel to the Church was begun, and Mr. Burleson was untiring in his 
efforts to further the plans and aiding the work, on one occasion sitting 
up all night to keep a fire that the wet plastering might not freeze. The 
work was finished in 1896 and the chancel was used for the first time 
on the Feast of the Annunciation. A new and dignified Altar was given 
and lastly there was presented a beautiful Communion Service of silvery 
and the inscription on the under side of the paten gives the name ofj 
Oneida's generous benefactor. '-The Chancel, Altar, Credence, Chalice 
and Paten are given to Hobart Church to the Glory of God and in rev- 
erent memory of Joanna Caroline Lewes, who for a period of forty years 
was a contributor to the Mission — Si Deus pro nobis quis contra nos.' 
Great and noble as was the work of Mr. Burleson, yet he workec 
not alone, for every member of the Mission household was both an effV 
cient and untiring laborer. There was the devoted wife, Ya-gon-donl. 
"she who is good to the poor," as the Indian women called her, anc 
their Guild Mother, giving her time faithfully and thoroughly to the 
work of carrying on this part of Christian service by wise counsel anc 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



37 



nelpful hands. Of their children there were five sons, all now in Holy- 
Orders. One was the regular assistant to his father, and the others 
;ave much time and work at the Mission. The three daughters, one 
eaching the Mission School, and the other two ably assisting both father 
^.nd mother, truly a wonderful Missionary family. For six years Mr. 
Burleson was priest, physician and adviser of the Oneida Nation. In 
he latter years his health failed and for two years he suffered intensely 
rom the inroads of disease, but with incredible determination he would 
;o miles over rough and dangerous roads, where every jolt meant acute 
igony, to visit some sick person who could not have a physician. He 
vent regularly to his Church duties notwithstanding his illness, and put- 
ing all thought of his own misery aside, he went forth bravely to heal the 
mguish of others. Another man of less noble character would have sunk 
Imder the strain on mind and body, but Mr. Burleson never faltered in 
he line of duty. On the igth of December, 1896, he was unable to leave 
lis bed, but on Christmas Day, with the last display of that indomitable 
esolution which was his, he was carried to the Church and celebrated 
he Holy Communion and gave the Sacrament with his own hands for the 
ast time. On February 22, 1897, he entered peacefully into life eternal, 
rlis funeral was held on the 26th. It was a blessed Christian burial 

with no trappings of woe, and few 
signs of grief, save the tears of 
his red children as they followed 
his body to the grave, chanting 
their Oneida funeral hymns. He 
was buried in the place he chose, 
on the crest of the hill overlook- 
ing the Reservation, and the gray 
granite cross which marks the 
spot, as well as the red corner 
stone of the Hospital, are 
"Stones of Remembrance" of 
lim who for thirty-three years was a Missionary of the Church of God, 
ind for six years the Father, Physician and Friend of the Oneida people. 
In May, 1897, tne ^ ev - F. W. Merrill, the present Missionary, entered 
ipon the work, and it has been his privilege to see the completion of the 
vork so dear to his noble-hearted predecessors, the completion and con- 
secration of the stately and dignified Hobart Church. The consecration 
vas the fruit of years. It was the crowning act of labors begun long 
a.go in what was then a wilderness. Oneida is historic ground and has 




BURLESON MONUMENT 



38 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



been justly called "The cradle of the 
Church in the North West." Twelve 
years before Bishop Kemper came, eigh- 
teen years before Nashotah was thought 
of, Christian Indians, under a priest of 
their own blood, were using the ancient 
Liturgy and Prayers in the old log Church. 
To the Church of the Oneidas long after- 
wards (but still fifty years in the past,) 
Adams and Breck walked from Nashotah to 
be made priests by the Apostolic Kemper. 
The log Church, and the frame building 
which took its place, have now disappeared. 
The large stone structure, the result of 
many years of patient self-denial was at 
last set apart to the perpetual service of Almighty God. The prepara- 
tions for the consecration showed that the spirit of self-sacrifice and zeal 
for the honor of God's House still remained among the Oneidas. " My 
house first, and then God's " is not an Oneida motto, and their stately, 




THE REV. F. W. MERRILL 
The Present Missionary 




CHANCEL OF THE CHURCH 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



39 



well-appointed Church building is just the reverse of what is too often 
seen in comparatively wealthy parishes. On the 27th day of October, 
1897, the Church was ready for consecration. The walls and ledges 
were outlined with green garlands. In each window was placed a min- 
ature tree. The floor was covered with cedar twigs ; it gave the effect 
of a mossy carpet, and filled the Church with the fragrance of nature's 
incense. The new choir seats were made of oak. The Reredos and 
handsome Credence were memorial gifts from the people, the Bishop and 
Clergy of the Diocese, of the Rev. Solomon S. Burleson. On the Altar 

stands a simple Cross. It is of wood only, 
rather unimposing in its size and design, 
and at first glance looks out of keeping 
with its surroundings, but, on account of 
its associations, it will never be replaced 
by another. It is the old Altar Cross of 
St. George's in East London. During the 
stormy scenes of the riots there many 
years ago, it was torn from its place by 
the mob, and rescued from the street by 
Mr. Paget, and given by his wife to Bishop 
Brown, with the hope expressed that it 
might find some quiet resting place, and 
so it came to Oneida. 

The consecrator of the Church was 
the present Bishop of Fond du Lac, the 
Rt. Rev. Charles C. Grafton. On his 
arrival at the Church, he was received by the Wardens and Vestry. 
The scene in and around the Church, as the Bishop knocked for admit- 
tance, was most impressive. The large vested choir, headed by the 
Bishop and Clergy, proceeded up the aisle repeating the 24th Psalm. 
Such a congregation is rarely seen in an American Church. Here were 
gathered fully one thousand Indians, all dutiful and tractable and de- 
voted to the Church with a childlike faith. After the Rite of Consecra- 
tion, there was a solemn procession of the choir, the Clergy and Bishop 
around the whole interior of the Church, singing hymns in the Indian 
language. The Bishop was Celebrant and Preacher. His sermon was 
beautiful in its simplicity, the subject being "The Church — Man's meet- 
ing-place with God." The most impressive musical feature of the ser- 
vice was the singing of the Te Deum in the Oneida language at the close, 
as an act of thanksgiving. It was sung, as has been always customary 




ALTAR CROSS 
From St. George's Church, London 



40 



THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



as a solo by the leader of the choir, and between the verses the entire 
congregation joined in a three-fold Alleluia. After the service the 

Bishop, sitting in his 
chair before the 
chancel, received the 
tribe. Hundreds 
passed him in little 
less' than an hour. 
Young men a n,d 
women, mothers witn 
babes in their arms, 
tottering old age and 
toddling infants, all 
stopping a moment to 
clasp the Bishop's 
hand and for a word 
of blessing. Such 
were the ceremonies 
attending the com- 
pletion of Hobart 
Church, or as it was 
called in the sentence 
of consecration, 
"The Church of the 
Holy Ap-ostles." 
How Cadle, Davis, 
Goodnough, and 
Burleson would have 
rejoiced to see the seed they planted and watered with their tears, now 
a noble tree for the shelter of God's children. One might ask why build 
so large a Church in this far away part of the Mission field ? The 
answer is that the Church is none too large for the congregation. On 
Festivals it is filled to its utmost capacity and there is a large congrega- 
tion on all ordinary Sundays. When we remember that in order to go 
to Church, the Indians have not to walk a few blocks, or ride in the cars 
as city folks do, but come from many miles and often on foot, the large, 
regular attendance speaks well for their Christian principles. Among 
the twelve hundred who belong to the Church, there are four hundred 
communicants, and all on the Reservation are Baptized. They form an 
excellent body of Churchmen as loyal to their Church, and as faithful in 
their Christian lives as any congregation in the land. 




RT. REV. BISHOP GRAFTON 









THE ONEIDAS AT CHURCH 



THE ONEIDA RESERVATION OF TO-DAY 



ITS WORK AND ITS NEEDS 

The Church's work among these Indians is the double one of help- 
ing them in- their advancing civilization, and educating them into 
greater self reliance and self support. It also seeks to prepare them to 
exercise intelligently their full rights of approaching citizenship, and to 

develop that spiritual 






NURSE LAVINIA CORNELIUS 



and moral Christian 
character that ele- 
vates work into duty 
and pours its blessed 
sunshine into every 
department of life. 
This is the aim of the 
present Missionary to 
the Oneidas. A 
large and substantial 
Church, a Hospital, 
and School are the 
plant of our Mission 
at Oneida. They are 
monuments of the 
labors of those who 
have gone before. 
The work now, is to 
make the best use of 
these institutions and 
spread the principles 
which they represent 
in other directions, 
that they may come 
into closer touch with the mass of the people. First let us speak of the 
Oneida Hospital. The good work that has been done at our Hospital is 
beyond description. One must see it for himself to appreciate its price- 
less value to the sick, aged and poor of this nation. The Hospital was 
opened on the first day of January 1898, and the work began as a ven- 
ture of faith. Since that time, with no pledged support we have gone 
on doing what we could for our suffering ones. Our faith has not been 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



43 



unrewarded. God has opened the hearts and hands of His people so 
that they have been ready to give to our necessities, and we have 
never been obliged to refuse a single applicant who needed our care. 
During this time we have received many patients, some coming for long 
and others for a short period of time. We opened the Hospital with 

Miss Lavinia Cornelius, 
a graduate of Hampton 
Normal Institute, and 
the New Haven Train- 
ing School for Nurses. 
She remained with us 
until Sept. ist, 1899, 
when she received an 
appointment at the 
Government Boarding 
School. We were for- 
tunate to have another 
Oneida nurse in Miss 
Nancy Cornelius, a 
graduate of Carlisle and 
of the Hartford Training 
School for Nurses. She 
entered upon Hospital 
duty Sept. 5, 1899, and 
is still performing faith- 
fully her arduous duties. 
Most useful is the work 
which is being done by 
this faithful daughter of 
Oneida. We wish we 
NURSE NANCY CORNELIUS could here afford space 

for a full list of our benefactors, but they will all be pleased to know 
something of the work that has been accomplished through their gener- 
osity. The year 1898 was closed free from debt, and with such gifts 
and contributions placed at our disposal is due the careful management 
of our nurse that the work attendant upon the care of twenty -five patients 
could be performed. In 1899 the year began with an empty treasury, 
and without any guaranteed income, but relying solely upon the charity 
of Oneida's friends, we were able to provide comfort and medical attend- 
ance for all who needed it. Since the 12th of January 1901, we have 




44 



THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDA3 



had the valuable services of a resident physician, Dr. Zilpha Wilson of 
the Northwestern University, Chicago. During the first six months, our 
Doctor made 131 visits, and prescribed for 312 office patients, and in 
most cases she furnished the medical supplies to her patients. The ser- 
vice that Doctor Wilson has been 
able to render in many homes of 
the Oneidas, has grown beyond 
record, and none but God can 
know the depth of our gratitude 
for her quiet, faithful and suc- 
cessful labors in alleviating the 
sufferings of her many patients. 
We are looking forward to 
the day when the Oneidas will 
have one of their own nation as 
their physician. Through the 
generosity of friends, a scholar- 
ship has been provided at the 
Milwaukee Medical College for 
this young Oneida. Mr. Josiah 
Powless was born at Oneida 
twenty-eight years ago ; he at- 
tended the district school on the 
Reservation until he was fourteen 
years of age, he then went to 
Carlisle and remained in that in- 
stitution for six years, earning for 
himself a splendid record as a student and for his high moral char- 
acter and attractive personality. The same characteristics have marked 
his first year in the Medical College, and both in class work and in his 
final examinations he received excellent standings. We feel sure that for 
the rest of his course we shall find him a satisfactory student, and in 
the end a faithful physician. 




HOSPITAL PHYSICIAN 






THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 45 

EDUCATIONAL WORK 

• The Mission School 

Our little Mission School, of which the daughter of the Missionary 
is the teacher, has for its special purpose the bringing of our children 
under the influence of the Church. This is what of course they can- 
not have at the Gov- 
ernment School. Be- 
sides the children 
must live at the latter 
place, which takes 
them away from 
home for nine months 
in the year. The 
Reverend Mr. Good- 
nough instituted the 
Mission School many 
years before the Gov- 
ernment made any 
provision for the 
education of the 
Oneida children. 
The older people who 
had been educated 
under his devoted 
care were greatly 
pleased when the 
school was put again 
under the charge of 
the Church a t t h e 
beginning of the 
school year 1898. 
The building which 

for many years had been without repair, had become both dilapidated 
and untidy and was so old and worn as to be unfit for use. Through a 
generous gift of $300 from the Bishop of the Diocese, the building was 
completely renovated. The interior of the school was made to present 
a very attractive appearance, with new wall maps and pictures. The 
large front room is fitted up attractively, and is used for meetings of the 
girls' guild, and during the winter months as a public reading room and 



..-:• 



JOSIAH POWLESS 
Medical Student. 



4 6 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 




lecture hall. Every Thursday morning the school children attend the 
Celebration of the Holy Eucharist at the Church, and they have been 
taught to sing devotional and simple hymns appropriate for this Service. 
They devote the rest of the morning to religious instruction. We are 
sure that our readers will not think all Indian children dull and unin* 
teresting after seeing this group of bright and merry little people of 
Oneida. Some of them are such pretty brunettes, others have brown 

hair and blue or gray eyes, and 
they are as merry hearted and 
happy a group of school children 
as you can find anywhere. Their 
expression and grasp of English 
is both picturesque and amusing, 
and sometimes beyond one's 
power to understand. When a 
present pupil of Hampton was 
struggling over our wet, muddy 
roads one day in early Spring, she 
was naturally late at school and 
excused her tardiness by explain- 
ing, " I had to cross so many 
little waters;" a phrase that would 
have delighted our own Long- 
fellow and vastly more poetic than 
" stalking through mud-puddles." 
By that curious something in our 
brains that gives a twist to a half 
understood word, this same pretty 
child wrote a page or two about 
the " Conversation of S. Paul," 
when January brought the festival of that Saint's conversion. As a rule 
Indians prefer phonetic spelling, and so simple the word " is " was spelled 
" s. is," in tone of triumph and with a toss of a small foot, while the 
word " thread " got strangely mixed with " breath " and came forth as 
"threath." Books, slates and blackboards, however, do not rule unin- 
terruptedly. Witness the transformation wrought by the advent of St. 
Nicholas. The famous lover of children deals with no stinted hand 
when he visits the Reservation, but unpacks yellow oranges, pink and 
white cornballs and bags of candy more profusely than is shown in the 
picture, besides multitudes of dolls, (of which there cannot be too many), 



TEACHER OF THE MISSION SCHOOL 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 47 

books, pictures, color-boxes, transparent slates, with all the gifts ex- 
pected and unexpected, that go to make up a generous pack for the 
Saint's willing back and threatens to keep him in the chimney. One year 
the children wrote a few plain suggestions to their old friend about 
Christmas wishes, and we are sure that the old Saint must have been 
mightly tickled when he read " Four Santa Cluas," and not a bit mad 



% - 

74':' : 



MISSION SCHOOL CHILDREN 

to be called " My Dear Sand Close !" And here were some of the 
wants of the little red folk of Oneida. 
"My Dear Santa Cluse: 

please give me a little Pasket and stove and slate and pencle, book 
and doll and handkerchief and Thimple." 

Another little man writes, 

" My Dear Santa Claus: 

I want a little gun and a rubber ball and a Knife and a pair of 
mittens and a Street-Car and some oranges." 

Certainly their wants were moderate enough; fancy another small 
boy telling his sister he only wanted a pair of suspenders ! His grand- 



48 



THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



father might have considered the matter from exactly such a standpoint, 
but while due attention was paid to the little brown back, the little red 
palate was not forgotten, nor something to amuse the quaint childish 
brain. 

And what shall be written of the very tiny men and women, the 
baby Oneidas, two of whom look up at you from these pages ? Very civil- 




SANTA GLAUS AT ONEIDA 

ized, very like ordinary white babies they look, butjwhile one may be 
fair with golden hair and blue eyes, the next may be a veritable nut- 
brown maid, and the third, a bit of real bronze, like the small warrior 

brave, which our illustration seems to show 
in the attitude of listening to some far off 
spirit, and all these are full-blooded 
Indians, just as you find in certain Spanish 
families of bluest blood, a son or daughter 
with auburn hair and blue eyes. These 
babies, however, have one experience un- 
like any white child's, for while Miss 
America is dressed in her best and carried 
to Church, it is only for once ; after her 
Baptism she rarely goes again until old 
enough to keep still and not distract her 
neighbors. But red babies appear with 




AN ONEIDA BABY 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



49 




great regularity, coming in white gowns with dainty caps, or plain calico 
with sunbonnets or sometimes in odds and ends of flannel with a hand- 
kerchief over the cute little head, and carried over the mother's shoulder 

or in cold weather tucked under her shawl, 
from which they emerge warm and serene, 
ready to be interested in a gay-colored 
window, a cracker from some deep pocket 
and invaribly keeping up a running com- 
mentary on the sermon. If opinions clash 
too loudly, his babyship is gravely carried 
out to regain his native composure and 
after his return, may be quietly passed over 
the back of the pew and slowly rocked on 
some good grandmother's knees. 

One Sunday, a dear child was most 
engaging in her small absorption in books 
and flowers. She arranged all the Prayer 
Books and hymnals with great precision, 
AN ONEIDA BABY looked with intense disgust at some crum- 

pled and soiled paper, and finally took up a bag and handed her mother 
the purse from which to take the offering. Two pennies were given the 
child to put into the basin with her own 
pretty fingers, when suddenly it occurred 
to her that her neighbor might be gratified 
to offer a penny also, and taking the same 
she leaned over and extended that small 
copper coin with most gracious manner 
and smile, as became a daughter able to 
count many noble forefathers. Much 
that is interesting among children big and 
little, takes place in the old Church, of 
which the interior is shown in Christmas 
dress. And right royal it looked in hang- 
ings of scarlet and festoons of evergreen, 
wreathes of holly, and gay paper roses, 
fastened here and there among blue and 
green spruce branches. Some idea of the 
size may be had if you are told it would be possible to put the Hospital 
inside the chancel and leave room enough to walk around it. Here the 
people come Sunday after Sunday, contented so far, and glad to give 




A YOUNG BRAVE 



50 



THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



the best house to God, while living themselves in little log houses. But 
the men who built this Church loved their work and did it for the glory 

of God. Whether 
the next generation 
will appreciate what 
their fathers have 
wrought becomes a 
perplexing question 
not unmixed with 
sadness, for the In- 
dian as a returned 
student, is very dif- 
ferent from the In- 
dian learning his 
" three R's." in the 
Mission School. A 
mere veneering of 
worth and manliness 
is to be dreaded ; wherefore let all Christian souls reading these words, 
send up an earnest petition for Indian students, that they may not lose 
the " faith once delivered." 

The Government Boarding School 

The chief educational work among the Oneidas at home is found 
at the Government Industrial School. Soon after the passage of the 
"Dawes Allotment Act," a commission, appointed by the President, 
came to the Reservation to explain the provisions of the law and to 
induce the Oneidas to take advantage of the same. At a council with 
the Indians this matter was thoroughly discussed, and, as one of the 
inducements to take their land in severalty, the commissioner agreed to 




THE CHANCEL AT CHRISTMAS 



THE GOVERNMENT BOARDING SCHOOL 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



5 



recommend to the President and Secretary of the Interior, that a board- 
ing school be established on the Oneida Reservation. This recommenda- 
tion was favorably considered, and in the allotment of lands that soon 
followed, a tract of land near the center of the Reservation was reserved 
for a school farm. However, it was not until the spring of 1892 that 
the erection of the first school buildings was commenced. In July, 
1892, Charles F. Pierce, a Superintendent of several years experience, 
and who had successfully organized an Indian boarding school among 
the Sioux in the west, was sent here under orders from the Commissioner 
of Indian Affairs, to superintend the construction of the buildings, make 

plans and esti- 
mates for other 
necessary out- 
buildings which 
were to be erec- 
ted, and also 
make estimates 
for furniture and 
other school sup- 
plies. As the 
buildings neared 
completion, ap- 
plications for ad- 
mission to the 
school were filed, 
so that when the 
school first 
opened, March 

27, 1893, the number of applicants far exceeded the capacity of the 
school. The plant has teen increased from time to time, until at the 
present the capacity is two hundred and twenty-five pupils, and is valued 
at about $65,000. There are seven brick and twelve frame buildings, 
equipped with modern conveniences and appliances, such as steam heat, 
electric lights, water and sewer systems, etc. The school is beautifully 
located on a high ridge across the Duck Creek from Hobart Mission, 
near the railroad station. It can be seen from all directions, and its 
fine brick buildings, over which floats the American flag, present a beau- 
tiful as well as patriotic scene. The Indian children are taken from 
their homes at the age of six years, or even younger, and during 
ten months of the year are kept at the school where they are educated, 




THE ASSEMBLY HALL 



5^ 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 






clothed and cared for by the Government without expense to the parents. 
The course of study in the school is both literary and industrial. The 
literary work comprises the work of the first four grades of the ordinary 
school work, following a course of study promulgated by the Superin- 
tendent of Indian Schools. Industrial work includes farming, garden- 
ing, care of stock, and the use of tools, for the boys. Girls are taught to 
cook, wash, iron, sew, knit, and to do other branches of domestic work. 
All pupils are required to devote one half of their time to the industrial 

work of the school. A farm is connected 
with the school and the boys, under the 
direction of the farm Instructor, are re- 
quired to perform the work of planting, 
cultivating and harvesting of the crops. 
Considerable stock is also kept and this is 
cared for by the pupils of the school. The 
girls, under competent instructors, carry 
on the domestic work in the different de- 
partments of the institution. 

The present Superintendent, who is 
also the Government Agent for the whole 
Reservation, is Mr. Joseph C. Hart. He 
has under his direction a corps of twenty- 
five school employes. All are efficient in- 
structors and are interested in the work of 
elevating their charges. All positions in 
the Government Indian School service are 
under the Classified Civil Service Rules, 
and, with the exception of Indian employes, are filled by the Civil Ser- 
vice Commission. Under this method the employes are under no obi igation 
to the politician, and the baneful influences of the old " spoils system" are 
no longer prevalent to destroy the work of the Missionary and other con- 
scientious workers. The school is popular among the Indians, and is 
always filled to its fullest capacity. It is a valuable object lesson to the 
Indian, and is a powerful factor in his civilization aud advancement. 
When the pupils have completed the work at this home school, they 
have obtained a fair knowledge of work, as well as the studies of the 
ordinary country district school, and are eligible to promotion to the 
larger training schools, such as Carlisle, Hampton or Haskell. Over 
four hundred of the Oneidas have attended these larger training 
schools, and many of them have made excellent records while there. 




JOSEPH C. HART 
Government Agent and Supt. 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



53 



After graduation many have secured positions in the Government 
service, others have found employment in shops and farms, and a still 
larger number are at home using the skill and knowledge acquired 
during their school life in making homes for themselves, on their own 
lands. Foremost in this class is Nelson Metoxen, who, after learning 
his trade at Hampton, returned to the Reservation and opened a wagon 
and blacksmith shop. He is a skilled workman and a model young man 
in every respect. He has erected for himself and family a very cozy 



-V 




ONEIDA BLACKSMITH SHOP 
and comfortable home, from the results of his labor in his shop, which 
might be an object lesson to many of our white neighbors. William 
Baird and Wilson Skenandoah, graduates of Carlisle and Hampton, have 
also a blacksmith shop, and being good horseshoers are kept busy at 
their trade. The only manufacturing interest on the Reservation man- 
aged by returned students is the saw mill owned and operated by Joseph 
M. Smith, an Oneida educated at the No. i day school, and at Law- 
rence University, Appleton. Mr. Smith erected this mill about five 
years ago and since that time has found employment for about twenty 
men. The mill saws mainly hard wood lumber, of a good grade, which 
is readily sold to the furniture factories in neighboring cities. The cut 



54 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



for the present year will amount to nearly eight hundred thousand feet. 
The mill is quite a help to the Indians as only logs from them are bought. 
There are many others of our returned students who have made excell- 
ent records, but limited space forbids mention. There is much work to 
be accomplished by them in the future. The entire Reservation con- 
tains 65,400 acres, of which 5000 are now under cultivation and 9,700 
acres under fence. Farming methods have for the most part been 
primitive, and as a consequence the lands which have been long in use 
have been cropped with wheat and corn until they have lost much of 
their original fertility and need intelligent methods to restore them. 

There is also a large area 




THE METOXEN HOME 



still uncultivated that 
only needs to be cleared 
of brush and broken up 
to be immediately pro- 
ductive. It is to these 
lands that the small 
army of young men and 
women that the Govern- 
ment has been training 
for self help can prove 
that their education has 
been of advantage to 
them so that they may 
keep up with the onward 
march of agricultural 
improvement. Nearly the whole Reservation is well adapted to garden- 
ing and dairying and many thousand beef and dairy cattle can be raised. 
Of very different character from the Indian School at home and 
abroad is our own Diocesan School for girls, Grafton Hall, Fond du 
Lac. From this Institution of learning in the year 1898, Laura Miriam 
Cornelius graduated. She proudly traces her lineage from the celebra- 
ted orator, Chief Daniel Bread, and Skenandoah, the last of the New 
York Chiefs of this nation. From such an ancestry she no doubt inherited 
much of that ability which made it possible for her to graduate with 
honor from the classical course of the college where she was a student, 
and to present as a graduation address an essay entitled, " The Romans 
of America/' in which was very successfully traced the analogy between 
the Iroquois Confederacy, or Six Nations, and the ancient Roman 
Empire. 



THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



55 



We are indebted to Miss Cornelius' graphic pen for the following 
Oneida Legends : 

The Legend of the Bean 

In a brown tepee, nestling cosily in a mass of summer foliage, and 
shaded from the hot June sun by magnificent old trees, under whose 
spreading branches, the rich, black sod fed many a flower and fern, lived 
in years gone by one who had seen many moons wax and wane among 




Uplift 



T&m% ) 



OUR SAW MILL 
her people. Near by her dwelling a babbling brook wound on its way, 
and the birds overhead sang fearlessly their many notes of gladness. 
The air was full of dewy fragrance, and the sun shed a radiance upon 
the morning mist as I drew near the snug little dwelling, the home of 
my grandmother; and, sitting down beside her, begged for an old story. 
She thought briefly, and perhaps the silken tassel of the corn which she 
had planted at the side of her home made her think of the story which 
she told me : " Long ago, when my mother was a young woman, she 
had a home like mine, where nature bloomed abundantly. She loved to 
hear the birds sing and could name each kind by its song. One day she 




56 the church's mission to the oneidas 

was awakened by a strange and beautiful melody, and, stealing softly to 
the spot from whence the sound came, she saw a pretty green vine whirl- 
ing in the air above a corn stalk. Suddenly, it stopped singing, and de- 
scending, lightly twisted itself around the shock. On it were little 
buds, promising bright red blossoms. These matured and withered, and 
brought forth long green pods filled with round flat seeds, which hard- 
ened and browned. She picked them one day, and when the Chiefs 
were met in Council she brought to them the strange product and said : 

' Fathers and Elders, I beg a privilege ; 
gaa I am the daughter of the Chief who shot 
the arrow into our enemies' midst, 
which killed their leader. Give me 
leave for utterance. I will speak 
briefly. I have a message from Lalon- 
fej^* yhawagon, the Ruler of the Heavens ; 

the friend of our own Tribe. ' ' Speak 
thou mayest, fair daughter,' said the 
Chiefs. She told the story of the bean, 
and, producing it, said : ' Not with- 
out meaning did it sing. It is the sign 
™ from Lalonyhawagon to test the cour- 

LAURA MIRIAM CORNELIUS ^ ° f OUr tdbe ' and t0 know whether 

we are worthy of his friendship. Should 
it be good, other tribes will buy it, and ours would be the glory of inter- 
preting aright the wishes of the Great Spirit.' The Chiefs were aroused 
and asked ' Who will be the one to test the product ? ' Then an old 
woman came forward and bravely answered, ' I will risk my life for the 
benefit of my friends, my home, and my race.' She cooked and ate it 
and found it very good. And so from that day the bean became an in- 
gredient in the mixing of corn bread, because it first grew upon the corn, 
and its song still lingers amid the silky fringes of the ripening corn, and 
those who listen hear again the message of the Great Spirit. This 
brave old woman lived to see her six sons grow in wisdom and virtue and 
become great Chiefs of the tribe." 



THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



57 



The Sacrifice of the White Dog 

Oh that the expanse of time were less, and the camp fire burning, 
to make my story glow with interest to my reader. But my pen paints 
poorly, and you understand not the old Oneida vocabulary which so well 
my tale would tell. Briefly but barely I must tell my legend. It is of a 
curious rite and ceremony. When the Oneidas were still warm in the 
nest of the Iroquois, they went along with the Six Nations to their 
annual sacrifice of the White Dog. With patient care they seek for a 
white dog — without spot or blemish he must be. Then was he killed 
without the shedding of a drop of his blood. His body, after the white 
man had introduced those decorative articles, was adorned with blue 
and red ribbons — originally it was the gorgeous Autumn leaves of the 
forest that decked the offering. When the decorating was done the 
people came together and formed in procession behind the bearers, 
singing weird offertory hymns, for they were worshipping that Divine 
Spirit, Lalonyhawagon. On an altar of brush they laid the body 
to burn, and, blending their song with the rising fumes, they marched 
around it until all was consumed. The white dog, the emblem of inno- 
cence ; the red, of victory over the enemy ; and the blue, heaven's color, 
the sign mark of the Divine Spirit, which guided them to the worship of 
the Great Spirit. 



58 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 




'■• 



THE MISSION SISTERS OF THE SOCIETY OF THE 
HOLY NATIVITY 

A great educational work as well as one of the most valued agencies 
in our missionary work is the help given by the Sisters of the Holy Na- 
tivity. We believe this is the first instance where any of the Sister- 
hoods have sent their workers among the red men. Our Sisters have 

been in residence for 
eight years. In the 
year 1898 the Sisters 
built their own home 
and they have always 
given their services 
wwawsw-;. without any cost to 

the Church. There 
_y is a tiny little chapel 

in their house for 
their own devotions, 
J^ where the Missionary 
celebrates the Holy 
Communion two 
mornings in the week. 
Their work is not 
confined to spiritual 
minis t r at ions, but 
with all the other workers, they labor for the advancement of the tribe 
in all that helps towards civilization. They have introduced among the 
women the very beautiful and profitable industry of lace work. In the 
fall of 1898 the Oneida women began to learn this art. Miss Sybil 
Carter, who has done the splendid work of establishing this helpful in- 
dustry among the Indian women of the country, kindly sent a represent- 
ative to spend some days on the Reservation in August, who helped at the 
start, when about a dozen women undertook the new work. Ordinarily 
a lace school attempts but one kind of lace ; either the braid lace, which 
is of needle work, or the pillow or bobbin lace, as it is called. At Oneida 
we are doing both kinds. As this is an art entirely new to the women, 
it must necessarily grow gradually. Most people are familiar with the 
common hand-made " torchon " lace, which is made on a pillow with 
bobbins, but not all are aware that the oldest and most beautiful laces 



THE SISTERS HOUSE 



THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 59 

were made in this way. Much that is dainty and exquisite is effected 
with the various machine-woven braids, and according to the design or 
the nature of the material, or the stitch used, it is named " Honiton," 
" Point" or " Battenberg," etc., and leaves nothing to be desired for 
table decoration or personal adornment. But the pillow lace has an in- 
terest all its own with the lovers of the genuine article. The work is, of 
course, open to all, and many of the older women are glad of the opportu- 
nity to earn money, and as glad too, to be able to " make pretty things.'' 
It is to the women's credit that their work is all done in their homes. In 
some schools this would not be possible, and the teachers even baste the 
work ; but our pupils prepare their own work and return it ready to be 
sent to New York, except for the pressing. They have paper napkins in 
which to wrap the braid, thread and work, and it is all carried back and 
forth in pasteboard oyster-pails ! which are convenient for hanging 
up in the tiny log cabins, out of the reach of the little ones. There is 
the oft-repeated injunction " Jiot-kont-sa-tso-hulon, " that is, "Be al- 
ways washing your hands." Results prove that this is effectual, for 
seldom is any lace returned soiled. One never ceases to marvel at the 
delicate, dainty work accomplished by hands that would seem better fit- 
ted for out-door work, and it is always a pleasure to see the women's 
own delight in the beauty of their handiwork. From October, 1900, to 
July, igoi,the women earned $1, 125 for their lace making. We are sure 
that no better answer could be given to the question often asked the 
Missionary, " What is the work of the Sisters at Oneida ?" than their 
own report made to their Bishop. 

" Our work is not one which can be well or fairly expressed by 
means of statistics, and perhaps that is not much to be regretted on the 
whole ; so often there is little behind large numbers ! There are incid- 
ents constantly occurring as a part of ' the day's work ' which it would 
be almost, if not quite, impossible to put before an outsider in such a 
way as to make them seem anything but trivial, yet we find in them 
ground for thanksgiving and satisfaction, since we know them to be sig- 
nificant of help given, in some form. Reading letters from the Mission- 
aries, whose work is far away, such as, to give but one instance, those 
of the Cowley Fathers in Indian, we can but feel that if we could write 
" India," or " Africa " at the head of what we might say as to our doings 
and surroundings, our work would have as great a claim upon the public 
interest and sympathy. With your knowledge of this Mission and of 
our place in its working force, do you not agree with us in the feeling 
that our real and most helpful work is just the living here, as we do, 



60 THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDA3 

really belonging to the dear people about us, who know that at any time 
they may call upon us for anything which lies in our power to do for 
them, whether it be the reading or the writing of a letter, the tuning of 
an autoharp, the solution of a problem in surveying, the giving of advice 
in trouble or perplexity, comfort in sorrow, small gifts in time of need, 
medicine or delicacies in sickness, spiritual help and teaching, a text 
of Scripture explained, perplexing questions in morals considered, a les- 
son given in a new lace stitch, or in reading musical notation, some 
remedy supplied when ' Billy, he's sick ' (that's a pony), sympathy ex- 
tended and such assistance as the circumstances allow, when an old 
neighbor comes definitely ' to get uncross,* as he puts it. For all of 
these things we have been called upon and the confidence of those who 
come so simply trusting to our entire willingness and power to accom- 
plish anything that may be desired, is touching and inspiring, and serves 
almost to create the ability in question. Shall I not tell you something 
of just one day's experience ? There comes to my mind a cold, snowy, 
windy day of the past winter, when the mercury stood at eighteen degrees 
below zero ; it was during an interval when our kitchen had no queen 
save our own selves, which means that the care of fires, cooking of meals, 
washing of dishes, cleaning of lamps, sweeping and dusting, and a score 
of other like details, ah me ! had to be put into days that were full with- 
out them. This will help you understand why we welcomed a stormy 
day, foreseeing, as we imagined, a day of comparative quiet, with res- 
pite from the ever-active door bell, and with time to sit down and 
make new lace patterns that were needed, each to be two or three yards 
long. Well, the day began ; we had breakfast, (persons always do) and 
then right in the early forenoon our lace workers began to come, and, 
notwithstanding the storm and cold, there were eighteen or twenty of 
them before the day closed, and seven were new pupils, who must be 
shown all about the stitches and the way to handle the braid, etc., with 
many an earnest injunction to keep it all perfectly clean. Some of these 
women had walked over four miles, and naturally came with clothing 
quite wet; three came at one time who had been visiting together, and 
as one spoke English, it seemed too good an opportunity to lose and they 
therefore started out in spite of the weather. Time went on, all too 
fast, and at noon a good neighbor came in to give a little help about the 
dinner and the inevitable washing of dishes that must follow. The 
afternoon proved as full as the morning had been ; but when it came to 
be time for supper, we imagined we could prepare tea and some cream 
toast easily enough and it would be plain and hot, and we quite antici- 



THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 6l 

fated sitting down together quietly. I undertook to prepare the food« 
and my sister busied herself 'setting the table,' but by the time the 
cream for the toast was ready to be served, the bell announced callers, 
and they came for lace. Accordingly I whisked the spider and its con- 
tents on to an asbestos mat (happy invention) and left it at the back of 
the stove, asking my sister to have an eye to it, while I went upstairs to 
prepare the lace materials. No sooner was I absorbed in measuring and 
cutting than the bell was heard again and my sister must leave all 
thoughts of tea and toast and go to the door and attend to the next set of 
callers. When finally everything had been supplied and all had de- 
parted, we turned us kitchenward once more, but even as we went our 
minds were prepared for what we should find, and alas for that cream 
toast ! it might have been tempting once, but now it was burned until 
it was horrid ! We had reached the stage where we did not want 
anything if we had to prepare it, and besides it was growing late, so 
we concluded to have a regular nursery tea of bread and butter and jam, 
but the bell was heard once more. This time our callers were two 
elderly Indian women who are good friends to us, coming at intervals 
from their distant homes and always bringing something nice ; we have 
very interesting calls with them though they speak no English. At once 
we settled down to spend some time with them, for we have had experi- 
ence. After the greeting and handshakings, a moment of silence fol- 
lowed as usual, and then ' Hn,' said one of the women, as she drew her 
basket from under her shawl, handing it to me. ' Utnathi ne gaigon ?' 
(What is this?) I asked. ' Katkat,' was the reply, that is 'look,' 
and lo ! two loaves of native bread, made of pounded corn and black 
beans, quite fresh and warm. It is always a delicacy in our estimation 
and best of all, was ready for us at that very moment ; no need of fur- 
ther regrets for that lost toast ; here was our supper provided for us by 
the kindest of ravens. Having expressed our pleasure in the exclama- 
tions we have learned from the Indians themselves we were given a fur- 
ther surprise (?) when the other visitor drew from under her shawl a pail, 
having in it a pot of fresh butter, and a ' kitkit ' /. e. a chicken, all 
dressed and ready to cook (fortunately, for neither of us could accom- 
plish the dressing of a chicken ; I'm sorry, but it is a fact.) While my 
sister talked with our friends (talked at them, I mean, though they do 
grasp our meaning fairly well) I slipped upstairs and found some little 
things to give them as our expression of gratitude and pleasure, and 
when the visit had been duly prolonged, they got ready for their long 
tramp homeward, adjusting shawls and head gear as only Indians can. 



62 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



It was dark and growing colder, but out they went, and their pleasant 
sweet-voiced chatter came back to us as we watched them on their way. 
We sought our kitchen once more and thankfully fell upon our Indian 
bread and made some tea, and a very satisfying little supper we had, 
although it was after eight, and some might think the bread a little solid 
to be eaten at night. This was a day literally full for us, and yet so 
little in it to tell. Of course a bright day would have brought us more 
callers, but it seemed many because we had expected no interruptions. 

The lace school has 
grown continually and 
we had 150 names on 
the roll, though not all 
of these are regular 
workers now. Between 
forty and fifty children 
have attempted the lace, 
and many of them have 
done good work, but 
some will have dropped 
from the list this coming 
year. We were asked 
to include the children 
of the Government 
School in the lace class, 
and after some consid- 
eration we decided to 
make the experiment, 

ONEIDA LACE not SQ much for the gake 

of the lace itself, as for the opportunity thus afforded of keeping our- 
selves in touch with the children, whom otherwise we should not see for 
nine months in the year. We have no cause to regret our decision, for 
the matron of the school reports very happy results, saying that since 
the girls began to "make lace" there has been a marked change in 
them ; they have behaved more quietly and have grown neater in their 
personal habits. The experimental nature of the work for this season 
makes the amount accomplished and the money earned less in propor- 
tion to the number of the workers than would have been the case if we 
had allowed only the best pupils to continue, but surely the good done 
is more wide-spread and that of course is our first aim. In the last 
year — three months being counted out as vacation — we have finished 




THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 63 

over 700 pieces of lace, and a litttle over S6oo have been paid for the 
work. In some cases a pupil has made only one or two pieces, at 50 
cents or 75 cents each, while others have earned between thirty and 
forty dollars. On some days more than -thirty pupils have come to 
return work, or to have their progress inspected or to get more material 
for the work in hand. If necessary to gain time for a lesson, pupils 
will stay to dinner with us, and you can readily see how these things 
help on the friendly, neighborly relations which must exist if we are to 
be of service to this people. Sometimes we have had as many as fifteen 
at a time, waiting to be served, and that really taxes the capacity of our 
small house, for kitchen and dining room must serve as well as the re- 
ception room. As a whole the women have shown great cleverness with 

1 their needles and their lace is really beautiful. The men show due 
appreciation of the work and are always ready to take the long walks 
for their wives in cold and stormy weather, and sometimes they laugh- 
ingly express a hope that they may share in the profits. I have spoken 
of this new industry at so much length because it is new, and of so much 
help to our people ; but of course it does not represent all we can do for 
them. We have given instructions to candidates for Confirmation as 
usual, and this year they were given as a general instruction to the con- 
gregation assembled before Evensong on Sundays, with an interpreter. 

; In Lent we had the weekly Bible instruction after one of the daily four 
o'clock Services. There is always the Church Altar work, the playing 
for the weekly Guild celebration of Holy Communion, and the hour with 

i the children of the Mission School once a week for the Church teaching 
when possible. 

The Sisters at all times do what they can to help with the music of 

1 the Church choir, copying and printing music, writing out new hymns, 
etc. They have written for the leaflets and appeals sent from the 
Mission and have furnished material for one number of the ' Round 
Robin,' which is published for the Junior Auxiliary. Little visiting has 

! been attempted among the people this year, for the long and serious ill- 
ness of one of the Sisters has left less time and strength for outside \\ ork. 
This rough outline will give you some idea of what our life here is like, 
and, simple as it is, we hope you will deem it worthy of your approval 
and benediction." 



6 4 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



THE ONEIDA CHOIR AND BAND 

It was for many years the hope of our people and their Missionar- 
ies that the Oneidas would have a Vested Choir. This hope was real- 
ized by the present Missionary's inauguration of one. consisting of about 
forty men and boys of the tribe, who sung for the first time on the fif- 
teenth Sunday after Trinity, 1897, the occasion being the Annual Har- 
vest Festival Services. With the vested choir we have also a supple- 




THE ONEIDA CHOIR 



mentary choir of women and girls, and the cornetists of the band give 
valuable assistance. The training of the choir is accompanied with 
great difficulties, for attending a choir practice on this Reservation is 
not a matter of taking a trolley car or walking a few blocks on a good 
pavement under electric lights. It means, for the most of our choris- 
ters, a long tramp or drive from three to eight miles over roads which are 
sufficiently difficult by broad daylight ; and yet there are few absences 
from our rehearsals, and even dark and stormy nights are no hindrance 
to their ambition or their willingness to give time and labor to perfect 
themselves in music. The Oneidas are a musical people, and their love 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



65 



of music and their spirit of devotion combined, have made them bravely 
conquer obstacles which at first seemed insurmountable, so that now our 
music has attained a recognized excellence. It is certainly seemly and 
devout. Our big, deep-chested men sing from their hearts, and make 
their singing a part of their worship. It is their gift to God, given with 
all their might. The choral Eucharist is sung most reverently. There 

is no giggling, whispering, and 
inattention, as in choirs of en- 
lightened white people. The 
Indian hymns are magnificent 
and are often rendered, with- 
out organ accompaniment, as 
the richness and harmonies of 
the voices would be marred 
by the most skillful playing. 
In these familiar hymns the 
entire congregation joins, tak- 
ing up the strains which to 
the visitors, sound so smooth, 
and resonant. The most 
striking effect is produced by 
the voices of the women, sing- 
ing apparently a tenor to the 
tenor, their high over-notes 
being so unusual, and some- 
times in funeral hymns, alto- 
gether weird, so that in Indian 
THE CRUCIFER harmony we can certainly look 

for the unexpected. Of our small organ we cannot speak favorably save 
for its valued antiquity. It is so weak and asthmatic as to be more of a 
hindrance than an inspiration. A substantial and melodious pipe organ 
is the need at present felt by the choir and congregation of Hobart 
Church. One solemn delight to both Indians and whites is their own Te 
Deum, stately, dignified, with three Alleluias after each verse ; as it takes 
three times as long to say or sing anything in Oneida as in English, only 
a few verses can be sung, these being chanted by one voice, the choir 
and congregation taking up the Alleluia. Twice a year only is this old 
Te Deum heard ; at Christmas and when the Bishop makes his visita- 
tion, whenthey make the day a holiday, meeting the Bishop at the 
station with the band, and escorting him, some on foot, some in wagons, 
in ordered procession to the Church. 




66 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



We must tell you a bit about our Band, in which there are about 
twenty members. In the old days a certain Frenchman cast in his lot 
with these people and seems to have been their first band-master, and so 




THE ONEIDA NATIONAL BAND 



kindly did the natives take his instruction, that today the Oneida 
National Band is quite in request and is heard at State and County Fairs 
and upon all Festival days at home. 



HOBART GUILD 

A proper presentation of the women of the Guild would turn this 
book into a big biography. Oldest of the guild women and most loved by 
them is Mary Ann Bread, the central figure in our picture. For many 
years she was their mother and interpreter, having lived as nurse among 
white families and being able to speak English more readily than the 
others. When the Hospital was built old Mary Ann was promised that a 
room should always be in readiness for her coming. We were glad she 
could enjoy the comforts of such a home for the two last winters of her 
life. During the winter of 1899 our old Mother, then nearly ninety 
years of age, was gradually failing in health and strength, but ever cheer- 
ful and happy, pleased with her hospital home, and ever grateful for all 
that was done for her comfort. After making her Easter Communion 
in the little Chapel of the Hospital, she returned to her friends. It was 
not long after that the report was made of her rapid decline in health. 
She was visited several times by the Missionary, and a few days before 
her death received her last Communion ; knowing it to be such, she said 
to her Missionary, " I am glad my long journey is nearly ended, 
and that very soon I shall be at Home." She died June 4th, 1900. 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



67 



Immediately after her death her body was brought to the Hospital, and 
there lay before the Chapel Altar until the day of her burial, June 7th. 
According to her wish she was dressed for burial in her old Indian cos- 
tume, beaded skirt, leggins and moccasins, and on her head was tied a 
simple black kerchief. Our dear old mother was loved and respected by 
the entire tribe, and rarely is a larger congregation seen in our Church 
than that which assembled on the day of her funeral. The Service con- 
sisted of the Burial Office and the Holy Communion, after which the long 



d r - 




THE GUILD WOMEN 



procession wended its way to the summit of the high hill of the cemetery, 
and during the filling in of the grave, favorite hymns in Oneida and 
English were sung. There were visitors from families round about the 
Reservation in which she had been employed as a nurse, and to whom 
she had endeared herself by long years of faithful, loving service. 

The nucleus of our Guild, was formed in the missionary days of the 
Reverend Father Goodnough, of beloved memory, whose wife, only eigh- 
teen when she came among the people, brought the elder women together 
and taught them how to cut and make their own clothing and to make 
white bread. Then the never-failing bed quilts, true coat-of-arms of 
all Guilds, were undertaken, flourishing to-day in wonderful squares and 
points and triangles of intense pink and yellow and green, important in 



68 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



an Oneida woman's eyes as a chest of linen to some nice Dutch Katrinka. 
Then followed in natural sequence the making of moccasins and dolls, 
for which orders still come in from genuine admirers of Indian work, 
and if you only knew how restful moccasins could be to poor, tired feet, 
you would introduce thern at the next five o'clock tea. Fancy a daintily 
outlined foot in softest buckskin, with solid beadwork reaching almost to 
the toe and velvet collar tied around the ankles. 

A real Oneida family claims presentation from our Guild women. 
Not bisque, nor china nor even rubber dolls, nor carrot dolls, nor yet rag 
ones, are waiting for their introduction to our readers, but two brown- 
faced, gorgeously-attired Oneida dollikins, 
of good old corn-husk lineage. Here, 
Miss Getting-water-in-a-dipper, and Mr. 
Something -lying -on -the -ground, m a ke 
your best bow to the pale faces looking so 
curiously at you. What is it? "They 
stare so." Oh, well, they are just inter- 
ested white folk you know, not true, in- 
teresting Americans like yourselves, and 
one must not expect too much of them, so 
don't mind if they examine your dress and 
beads and make some personal remarks ; 
this is quite the correct thing among pale 
faces. You see, dear Mesdames New York 
and Boston, these dollies are the handi- 
work of the Guild women, who spend every Thursday, the whole day, 
in their room in the Church, where they seem as fond of doll-making as 
Miss Alcott's Old-fashioned Girl. There are The-one-who-pushes-the- 
ice-away, The-one-who-makes-maple-sugar, and a dozen others, solemnly 
considering whether to put apple-green and magenta together, or to use 
gilt beads or glass ones on dolly's skirt ; and there is good old Yanigien, 
with a lapful of brown cornhusks that she is laboriously fashioning into 
the doll itself, putting layer after layer, one over the other, until a hard, 
smooth surface is formed for the head, while the ends of the husks make 
arms, legs and body. Small brown stitches divide the fingers and now 
Miss Doll is ready for her wardrobe. She can't bother with stockings 
and shoes, her mother never gave them a thought, so on goes a pair of 
soft moccasins with beads up the front, and next a pair of black cloth 
leggings, rather broad, with a pretty pattern in chalk beads, worked on 
the outside edge and around the bottom. Then comes the white petti- 




CORN-HUSK DOLLS 



THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 69 

coat, covered in turn by a plain skirt of any colored wool, and over this 
is put on a kind of primitive polonaise, that might have supplied Worth's 
first inspiration in that line. Suppose this polonaise to be dark blue 
serge, bound with narrow magenta ribbon, edged with a tiny row of 
white beads, both ribbon and beads reaching right up to the waist and 
throat ; then, following the shoulder seams are more lines of beads and 
a bit of a belt makes all neat around the waist, from which hangs a small 
chamois pocket, bead-trimmed, for, one ought to say, my Lady's hand- 
kerchief, but probably a gay red apple or some crackers would be tucked 
in, to keep the baby quiet. And a piece of dark brown silk is fastened 
securely to the top of the head and brought down each side of the face 
in most becoming bands, and tied with a bow at the back. Not every 
face can bear this trying style of hair-dressing, but when your features 
are of ancient Egyptian severity, quite the kind depicted on monuments, 
being drawn in ink, with true old masterly simplicity, then plain bands 
of hair are most fitting. Into the edge of this silky brown hair are 
placed the last ornaments, ear-rings of beads, when the doll is ready for 
her travels ; and the Oneida doll travels with all the fearlessness of the 
old tribe itself. Similarly made are the warrior dolls, dressed in buck- 
skin trousers and short jacket, belted ; knife in belt and feather in cap, 
and of course the necessary sprinkling of beads. They are fine repre- 
sentatives of a fine old tribe, these Indian dolls, and all doll-lovers should 
have at least one, while collectors could never be satisfied without two. 
But all these things are only a part of what is done by the Guild women, 
who earn several hundred dollars a year for their dear Church. Do the 
men give a day's work in the fields belonging to the Mission ? Out 
come, the Guild women to prepare dinner and supper, Is a feast 
given in order to raise a little money ? All day long, the Guild women 
make their best bread and pies and cake and whatever tastes good to 
the Indian palate. Does the chancel need cleaning ? Here are the 
Guild women with pails and cloths and plenty of good will. Or perhaps 
long yards of green are needed for the Christmas decorations. Here are 
the same ready hands, "and in their quiet way, all these things mean "a 
good time," low-voiced talking and low-voiced laughter with inflections 
no elocutionist could give and all the time in the world ! Why should 
any one be in a hurry because dinner was appointed for one o'clock ? 
Half-past two is early enough for a man who is not all stomach, for the 
despatch of the. average white man and the hurry-flurry of the average 
white woman find no place among the people of the Red Stone. 



70 THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 

VISITORS' DAY AT ONEIDA 

The Green Bay and Western Railroad brings the visitor to Oneida 
within a clear and expansive view of the institutions and buildings of the 
Reservation ere he reaches his destination. Immediately to the right 
upon leaving the little station, one catches a glimpse of the Government 
Boarding School. This institution is beautifully located on a high, level 
ridge and can be seen from all directions. Three long ridges run through 





THE MISSION BUILDINGS 

the Reservation, and as the visitor takes the road leading to the left of 
the station, he very soon catches aglimpse of the main ridge, upon which 
almost in the center of the Reservation, stands the large Church, a solid 
structure of grey limestone. The tower, eighty feet high, adds much to 
its stately appearance and impresses the spectator with its divinely pro- 
tecting-like care with which it seems to overlook the adjacent buildings. 
The Church structure is gothic in style and will seat between 800 and 
900 persons. The plans were carefully worked out and given by the 
Rev. Professor Babcock of Cornell University. The visitor is always 
conspicuous upon the sacred days of the Church, such as Sundays and 
other Feasts and Holy Days. 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



71 




The atmosphere on the Reservation upon these occasions is truly 
devotional and inspiring. We believe God's true children worship here 
and lend heart and voice to His praise. The Oneidas are remarkably 
devoted to their Church and its worship. The piety they manifest in 
the sight of God may well merit the good gifts which are being bestowed 
upon them. 

Not having to combat the saloon (for no saloons are allowed on the 
Reservation,) nor disturbed by sectarian jealousy and strife, the Church 
is their first and greatest interest. What has been done for these people 

through the Church's divinely appointed 
agencies appears in their history. Well 
may the Church be proud of what her 
Prayer Book and system of Christian civil- 
ization has accomplished. Our Sundays 
are very busy days. There is first the 
early Celebration of Holy Communion at 
7:30. At 10 o'clock the children meet for 
Instruction given by the Sisters. At eleven 
o'clock there is the Service of the day, 
and at this hour between 600 and Soo In- 
dians are to be found in the Church, and 
even larger numbers for the great. Festi- 
vals. In the afternoon there may be Bap- 
tisms, Marriages and Funerals, and at 
certain seasons special instructions are 
given. Evensong is said at five o'clock followed by choir rehearsal. Al- 
though the Services are said in English, certain portions are read by the 
Interpreter, the Rev. Cornelius Hill. We have previously given an 
account of him as a Chief of the tribe. As a minister of the Church he 
impresses one with a sense of his earnestness and spirituality, as vested in 
cassock, surplice and stole, quietly and without self-consciousness, he 
takes his part in the Service. He interprets the lessons from the 
English Bible into the Oneida tongue with a most remarkable fluency. 
There are comparatively few words in the Oneida language and an 
English sentence is therefore difficult to translate. Paragraph by para- 
graph is the message of the preacher also repeated with much eloquence 
and feeling. It is a sight full of interest to see Onan-gwat-go, or Great 
Medicine (Mr. Hill's Indian name) standing by the Missionary, his face 
turned towards the speaker as he listens attentively, and then turning to 
the people, speaks to them of the things of God. Now and then one 



THE REV. CORNELIUS HILL 
Deacon and Interpreter 



72 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



hears in the midst of the soft flow of the Oneida syllables an English 
word, for which there is no Oneida equivalent. A feature that is always 
refreshing is the close sympathy of the Interpreter with the spirit of his 
message. Nothing is so bracing, so inspiring, so gladdening to him as 
hearing a real message, words that come straight from God and go 
straight to the hearts of the listeners. At a Thursday morning celebra- 
tion in Lent, a visiting Clergyman was speaking of the strength and joy 
that comes to us through the Blessed Sacrament, and reminded his hear- 
ers that they should come to meet their Great Bishop in the same spirit 

but intensified, as 
that with which they 
always go to meet 
their earthly Bishop, 
coming for his visi- 
tation. And the 
preacher used a 
thought that struck 
the Interpreter most 
forcibly, saying 
something like this : 
" When your Bishop 
comes up here it is 
always to give you 
something ; he comes 
to give you the 
strength of the Holy 
Ghost, that so you 
may be able to re- 
ceive the Great Gift 
from the Altar, our 
Lord Himself. The 
Bishop comes, so to 
speak, to open for 
you the way to the 
Altar. He does not 
come to get anything 
The effect of these words upon 
the dealings of white men with 




RT. REV. R. H. WELLER, JR., D.D. 
Bishop Coadjutor, Fond du Lac 



for himself, but to give you something." 

the listeners was electric ; for when in a 

red (with pitifully few exceptions,) could it be truly said they do not 

come to get anything for themselves ? The Interpreter's eyes were 



THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



73 



tearful and his usually gracious utterance was cut short, as he remem- 
bered the open Hand of his Great Father and the clutching fingers of his 
white brother. Or again, on Palm Sunday, when reading the Gospel, 
there was heard a little break in the Interpreters voice as he read of the 
insults heaped upon our Lord, the thorns, the spitting, the mockery. 
Mr. Hill is the first Oneida to receive Holy Orders. He had served for 
many years before as Interpreter and on the day of his Ordination was 
on duty as usual. While the day was one of great rejoicing because of 

the spiritual gift to be 
bestowed upon him, 
it was also a day of 
sadness of heart, for 
his infant son lay dead 
a t home awaiting 
burial after the ser- 
vice of Ordination. 
Mr. Hill took his 
place by the side of 
the Bishop and pro- 
ceeded to interpret 
the sermon, but when 
he came to the words 
addressed to himself, 
strong and reserved Indian that he is, he simply covered his face and 
sobbed. In the Church no sound was heard and not an eye was raised. 
One could feel the sympathy extended to him from all hearts. But in a 
ew moments he regained his composure and went on with a calmness of 
oul resting in God. Since his Ordination he has been often called upon 
to administer Baptism in the case of sickness, and at all times has been 
a faithful co-worker with those under whom he has served. 

Close beside the great stone Church, stands the little house erected 
by the Sisterhood of the Holy Nativity for the use of two Sisters of their 
Community, who give their services and render valuable assistance to 
the Mission work. Opposite the Church are the Mission School build- 
ings and the Band room. The Mission farm of about thirty acres is 
cultivated by the men of the Church, who week after week, give such 
time as they can for plowing, haying, harvesting, making roads, put- 
ting up fences, repairing side-walks, cutting wood, and generally showing 
their zeal and interest for the Church property. Farther down the road 
stands the Mission House, the home of the Missionary, where the dsitor 




THE MISSION HOUSE 



74 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



may always be sure of a welcome. The dwelling place is a comfortable 
farm house, and through the generosity of our friends it has been lately 
put in good repair. We are obliged to ask our friends from time to time 
to contribute towards the keeping our somewhat large plant in repair 
and thus teach the Indians the necessity of a well-ordered establishment. 
We want our readers to be at home on the Reservation. They will find 
a busy work going on at all times at the School and Hospital, the Sisters' 
House, the Church and Mission House, where as many as fifty or a hun- 
dred Indians come 
every day. Our 
visitors will find the 
Reservation to be a 
tract of beautiful 
farm land about 
ten by twelve miles 
square. The land 
is all appropriated in 
severalty by the vari- 
ous families, and is 
taken up by farms of 
200 or 300 acres in 
extent. Except 
where the far m s 
are cleared and crops of grain are growing, the Reservation is covered 
with woods. If our visitors come in the harvest season they will find the 
people all busy, and it may surprise them to see the Indians making use 
of modern farm machinery, such as binders and the large threshing 
machines which are owned and managed by the Indians themselves. 
Nature has made our abode attractive to the artistic temperament. The 
sinuous Duck Creek winds its way through valleys, and numerous trout 
streams abound. The roads are narrow and winding and the cool, 
shady path-ways lead the lover of nature through pleasant rambles in 
beautiful woods. But all landscapes are dull without some life in them. 
Let us sketch in here a well known Indian figure. If a visitor comes to 
us, he is sure to meet, about the Sisters' house or at the Missionary's 
home, old Abram, " Kingly and kindly," so one writer described him. 
Abram Elm, with his broad shoulders, fine physique and noble head, is 
easily recognized as he takes his place in the choir and joins in the wor- 
ship with reverence and simplicity. Seldom does he raise his eyes from 
his book, singing in full, mellow tones without any self-consciousness, 




DUCK GREEK 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONblDAS 



75 



but conscious of God. His wife, Kawislenta, is one of our best bead 
embroiderers, and although she cannot talk English she understands it, 
and smiles genially. Abram cares for her very tenderly, and has only 
one thing to desire for her ; " I thinking," says he, " I wishing English 
mouth on my wife : that all I want ; she don't handsome much, but she's 
best 'ooman in world." They had a daughter once, whom they greatly 
loved, and she died. Then, Abram will tell you, " for one, two years I 
dying too : then I must live again." The loss of this only child has 

given him a most fatherly appreciation of 
young girls. " Boys, they very well," he 
grants, " but they not like girls. Boys go 
through house ; they making big noise ; 
they leaving things on the floor. Girls, 
they come through still, they not saying 
much ; they picking up things ; they make 
it all right." Tears for his sins, and sorrow 
for the miseries of his little world are 
never far from Abram 's eyes, but joyous- 
ness is, after all, his daily atmosphere. 
As you look into his face your heart is 
won by as ingenuous and sweet a smile as 
ever shone in the face of a child, and 
small things please him as they would a 
child. When a "white lady," who sent 
him a box of candy, begged that he take 
no offence at so trifling a gift, he fairly 
beamed with delight. ' ' Abram not mad, ' ' 
he said ; " Abram berry glad. Candy making Abram's mind just like 
little girl's mind. Abram berry glad." 





f * ,. 2 






MB'; -V. -^rfHICr 











A TYPICAL ONEIDA 



76 THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



A COTTAGE SERVICE 

The truly Catholic spirit of religion at Oneida is shown by the 
weekly "Cottage Services," which carry us back to the days of Bishop 
Kemper and the Nashotah Missionaries. A visitor at one of the simple 
services thus described it : "I wish you might be present at one of these 
Indian Cottage Services which are held every Friday night at some house, 
usually at some place where distance or age or sickness prevents the 
people from very regular Church attendance. After a drive of six or 
seven miles over atrocious roads, so dangerous at some seasons of the 
year that we were forced to remark we thought we ought to sing a Te 
Deum at the end of the journey for our preservation, we find the house 
where the service is appointed. It is brightly lighted, and a number of 
teams, which have brought the neighboring assembly are hitched about, 
for many of the congregation come from a distance. The average In- 
dian house, though there are better ones, is a log cabin with one large 
living room, a loft above and a " leanto " for cooking, etc. The houses 
are much neater than one generally finds among white people of the 
same class. When we enter the room we find a bed in one corner cov- 
ered for the occasion with the " best quilt " in brilliant patch work. 
Round the room on benches and chairs are arranged the congregation, 
men, women and children, as many as the room will hold. Mr. Hill, 
the Indian Deacon, passes Prayer Books to those who can read English, 
the Missionary puts on his surplice, and the Service begins. We have 
shortened form of Evening Prayer, and Mr. Hill reads the gospel for the 
week in the Indian language and interprets the instruction upon it, given 
by the Missionary. An Indian hymn is always sung at these gatherings 
to one of the quaint tunes which have been handed down from the 
early days of the tribe. One can but feel the devotional atmosphere 
of these cottage services." Another white visitor said: " It is a sermon 
just to be present and watch these people." After the service, which 
closes with a special prayer for the household and the general Benedic- 
tion, we say good-night with a friendly hand-shake all round, and drive 
home through the woods. It is very dark, but the horses seem to know 
the way. The piety of thought is somewhat disturbed by the frequent 
jolts over the corduroy road. We keep thinking how good those people 
are ! how does the Missionary stand it ? what brought tears into the 
eyes of that old woman ? and alas ! we could not help also thinking how 
tired we are and how glad to get home." 



THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 77 

OUR FUTURE, WHAT SHALL IT BE? 

Several characteristics of the Indians have been mentioned in this 
historical sketch, and these will be referred to now as entering into some 
of the social problems to be solved in the near future. The Indian is 
easy going, having little thought of the future ; he labors only for the 
present and calls the white man a slave. Necessity has compelled him 
to cultivate his land and thereby is proven that if he must, he can ac- 



AGRICULTURAL PURSUITS 

complish a great deal, as some of our well developed farms of to-day 
show. But he is likely to stop here, and if the crops fail as is the case 
at times, he has nothing to fall back on. To meet this need the Mis- 
sionary has been desirous for a long time to see a Creamery plant es- 
tablished on the Reservation. But first there was needed a permanent 
and reliable water supply. Our illustration does not represent that 
which is especially ornamental in the Mission plant, but no gift to 
Oneida is more valued than our water plant which cost us over $1500. 
Not only was it necessary for the establishment of the Creamery, but it 
is impossible to estimate the comfort and help added to all of the Mis- 
sion household and the Hospital. In making our appeal for this object 
we felt we were not asking a luxury from our friends but a necessity, 
and the prompt and generous response to our appeal made us feel our 
necessity was realized, and we are most grateful to all who aided us in 
securing our present valued water system. The water plant gives us an 
artesian well 233 feet deep, with a good flow of water, which supplies the 



78 the church's mission to the oneidas 

Hospital, Mission House and Creamery and makes bath rooms and other 
sanitary conveniences a possibility for the Hospital and Mission House. 
The Creamery plant has been an expensive outfit and it has not been 
easy to make philanthropic and charitable persons see our need of this 
industry ; but we knew it to be a great means of making the Indians 
thrifty and industrious. The Missionary did not act without the advice 
of experts in this line of business. Moreover he found it necessary to 
purchase a pair of overalls and enroll himself as a student at our State 
Agricultural College and spent some time there learning the practical 
side of the work. He then persistently talked of his pet scheme, wrote 

innumerable letters and appeals, and at 
last through the generosity of a few friends 
who believed in his object, saw the accom- 
plishment of his desire, and the Oneida 
Creamery Co. is now a reality. Our first 
plan was to build a large and thoroughly 
equipped building, but that required an 
! expenditure of $2500 which was not forth - 
! coming. One thousand dollars were all 
we could raise, and with this amount we 
remodeled our old granary building, put 
in the water supply, and bought the nec- 
I essary machinery. It is only a small 
plant, and the beginning of the work was 
THE WATER PLANT ridiculously small, for when we announced 

ourselves ready for operation on the 15th 
of May 1901, only one customer presented himself, bringing but 17 pounds 
of milk from his two cows ! At the end of the first week, however, we 
increased to 13 patrons with 695 lbs. of milk from 36 cows. At the end 
of the first month we had 16 patrons bringing us 775 lbs. of milk daily 
from 40 cows ; this enabled us to make about 200 lbs. of butter per 
week. There was continued progress until the end of our first and short 
season, when we were able to make the following report to our patrons 
and friends : 

Number of Patrons, 26. 

Number of Weeks the Creamery in Operation, 23. 

Number of Cows, 83. 

Pounds of Milk received, 99,897. 

Pounds of Butter made, 3,189, 

Paid Patrons for their Butter, $603.82. 



THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 

Highest price paid per pound, 20 cents. 
Lowest price paid per pound, 17 cents. 
Average price paid per pound, 18^ cents. 



79 



EXPENSE ACCOUNT. 

Patrons, for Butter, 

Salary of Manager and running expenses, 

Total, ... 

Receipts from sale of Butter, 

Deficit, 



$603.82 
368.63 

#972.45 
676.08 
$296.37 
With this small 
number of cows 
our Creamery can 
not be run on a 
paying basis, and 
so we are appeal- 
ing to generous 
friends to help us 
with the running 
expenses w h ich 
will average about 
$75 a month. We 
have a good mar- 
ket for our butter, 
and there is now 
even a demand for 
the products of the 
Oneida Creamery. We need greatly the help of the generous and 
wealthy to assist us to purchase a herd of one hundred first class dairy 
cows, which we can farm out to the Indians on shares for the mutual 
benefit of the Creamery company and the Indians themselves. Few of our 
people have money to purchase a cow, yet many of them have expressed 
an earnest wish to become patrons of the Creamery. All our patrons 
have been greatly pleased with the results of the industry, and all prom- 
ise to come back to us for the next season, some with added stock. Our 
regular weekly cash payments have been of wonderful help to them and 
proved the value of dairy farming as no amount of talk about such an 
advantage could have possibly done. For many years our people have 
depended largely upon the forests for their living, but so rapidly has 
:he land been cleared of its great pines and other timber, that here we 
:an no longer look to this industry as the chief means of producing a 




THE MISSION CREAMERY 



80 THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 

living. We all know the poverty and insecurity of results derived from 
the ordinary crop-raising farms. There is no better butter-producing 
State in the Union than Wisconsin, and no land is better suited for such 
an industry than our own Reservation, and all around us the farmers are 
developing this profitable industry, and a Creamery established by them 
only a year ago, where 98,453 lbs. of butter was made, and sold for 
$19,690, reports a dividend of 6 per cent for this first year's work. If 
our friends will only generously aid us for a time, we believe it will not 
be long before we too can establish a permanent and paying business 
that will enable us to be a self-supporting Mission, and make also our 
Indians self-supporting and industrious citizens. 

A Co-operative Store 

Another proposed plan is the opening of a co-operative store in 
connection with the Creamery, to the end that the Indians may not be, 
as they are now in a great measure, the victims of unprincipled traders 
in the towns round about the Reservation. At the present there are no 
stores on the Reservation, so that our people are compelled to go to 
town, ten and twelve miles away, for all their supplies. All know what 
a curse the " fire water" of the white man has been to the Indian and 
the demoralizing effect it has upon him. All Missionaries among Indians 
have this hydra of civilization to fight against, and it is the greatest 
drawback to their efforts to bring the red man into a more enlightened 
state. Fifteen hundred dollars would give us the beginning of this co- 
operative store which would be made a paying investment. 

One more special requirement, and we are done with all the visions 
for the future development of this most interesting tribe of Indians. We 
want to have a Guild Hall combining school, library, sewing and class 
rooms, kitchen and a large lecture hall. At the present time we have 
no room suitable for any large gathering, and we want a large lecture 
hall, where our people can have the advantages of stereopticon lectures, 
talks and instructions on hygiene and agriculture. The authorities of 
our State Agricultural College are willing to give us Farmer's Institutes 
and other lectures which would be of great help to the people. More- 
over the young men and women when they return from such schools as 
Carlisle and Hampton miss all the literary advantages they have enjoyed 
and many of them would make good use of the library. The Indians 
have set themselves to work for this object by going into the quarry and 
getting out stone. On the 17th of June 1901, the first load of stone for 
the new building was laid down on the site where some day we hope to 



THE CHURCH S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



8l 



see the Oneida Library. We shall need something more than $5000 for 
the erection of this building, exclusive of the stone and sand which the 
Indians will give. Is there not some philanthropic Carnegie in the 
Church, who, while gifts are being showered lavishly on white men's 
Colleges and Libraries, will remember the red man's simple needs and do 
for him what is so bountifully and superabundantly done for his more 
fortunate white brothers ? 

Those who have the future welfare of the Indians at heart will do 
well to take a personal interest in the work of the Church among these 
people. The romantic part of the Indian mission work is a thing of the 




pp |p^ 




C 1 1 ' 



THE GRAFTON LIBRARY 

past, and this makes it difficult to interest the general public in the 
furtherance of the work. The Indian as a rule wants to advance, but 
he cannot do it alone. He must be aided, and as Bishop Hobart long 
ago pointed out, we must give him, not a gospel without civilization, nor 
a civilization without the gospel ; they must go together. The hard 
work that falls on the Missionary he gladly accepts. He can but take 
a real permanent interest in the people to whom he has devoted his life. 
The raising of funds is a most trying work and from which one shrinks. 
In this will you not aid him ? Will not the Church give him all the 
assistance which he really needs and unite with him in bringing the 
Gospel of life and work into the homes of this ancient people ? 



82 THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO THE ONEIDAS 



DEAR READER : 

If our book has interested you in any degree, will you not, accord- 
ing to your ability, help us with an offering ? The needs of the Mission 
are many. Remember, dear reader, that we are far removed from the 
great centres of the Church and are easily forgotten. You must pardon 
our seeming importunity. It is hard to beg. It is harder to be in want 
and to see the work of God straitened. Therefore we urge in Christ's 
dear Name the needs of our Mission upon the old Oneida friends. You 
who have done so much for them in the past, grant us a kindly hearing. 
Get others interested in this gospel work. We need not say how much 
we Americans owe to the red men. It is an oft repeated story. Now 
we find them advancing in civilization, grateful for what has been done 
for them, eagerly availing themselves of all their advantages, becoming 
every year better educated and growing into the responsibilities of 
citizenship, loyal and devout Churchmen, members of our own Christian 
Family, one with us in the household of faith. To extend a loving and 
generous hand that will further lift them up, is to put in practice the 
great principle of the Incarnation. It is to make real our own following 
of Him who stooped down from heaven, and by the sacrifice of Himself 
lifted us up into union with Himself. If you have not done anything 
for this cause, won't you begin now ? If you have, do not slacken in 
well-doing. Let your prayers go up with your gift, and a gift from the 
Great Giver will be its acknowledgment here and in eternity. 



BB 



1.4* 



HOW TO SEND CONTRIBUTIONS TO ONEIDA 

Cash, by registered letter addressed to Rev. F. W. 
Merrill, Oneida, Brown Co., Wis. 

Money Orders, made payable at Green Bay, Wis. 

Freight, Oneida Wisconsin, via Green Bay Junction. 

Express Packages, should be sent per United States 
Express, addressed Green Bay, Wis., and marked to be called 
for. 






*\ 













&- <£y ! 



^o 



r oV 




A°, 



& 







v * s Jm(^* ^ 



<£> c^ . 




**■ .ys 







°^ ST. AUGUSTINE 
^ 32084 

\ 7-. a^ .v^-* 



^ A 



